Outrage in Ukraine over the dismissal of the popular Minister of Defense

Kramatorsk (Ukraine)The dismissal of the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, has generated a wave of protests and indignation in the streets. In cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv, protesters carried banners with strong slogans: "Shame", "Don't destroy what works", or "Power belongs to the people". These demonstrations, reminiscent of those in 2025 when President Zelensky tried to enact a controversial law that threatened the independence of anti-corruption bodies, demonstrate the institutional instability the country is going through, which began this week with the government's restructuring and the fall of Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. Fedorov is a popular politician who has the backing of Ukraine's military advances in recent months, which are supported, for example, by the effort of technological modernization with the use of drones.

Fedorov, 35, took over the Defense portfolio last January after heading the Ministry of Digital Transformation for six years. His figure represented new blood within an aging military command. He had achieved some successes, such as convincing Elon Musk to disconnect Starlink satellites to the Russian army or the current siege campaign in Crimea with medium-range drones, which have created new hope for victory among public opinion. But the minister, the youngest in the government, a businessman with a Silicon Valley profile, has ended up clashing with a power structure in which he had few allies and only the protection of President Zelensky. His proposal for a profound reform of the army with audits, public tenders, and digitalization was well received, but it represented a drastic change from someone without credentials or authority among the military.

Zelensky cannot allow the Ministry of Defense and the general staff to quarrel while the country is at war. According to what has emerged in the media Ukrainska Pravda, Zelensky justified his dismissal to a group of deputies, arguing that he could no longer tolerate the constant conflict between the young Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky. "They live in two different worlds. Fedorov wants to digitize everything and build the system around technology. The military simply want to be heard. They ask for a type of armament to be acquired, while he refuses and instead finances other areas. They simply stopped listening to each other".

The Ukrainian president has found himself caught between two opposing visions on how the war should be fought, that of a young expert in new technologies and that of a general from a post-Soviet military school. A dispute that was further intensified by the discontent of dozens of influential groups within the Ukrainian defense industry, who have been losing access to arms production contracts. In the end, the president has opted to preserve the current structure of military command.

The replacement

This earthquake, affecting the government's most sensitive portfolio, arrives at a time of widespread war weariness, in months when Russia has killed more civilians than ever in the conflict – around three hundred in June alone – and within the framework of a cabinet reshuffle. Serhii Koretskii, who served as CEO of Naftogaz, Ukraine's state oil and gas company, will be the new prime minister.

In this context, Zelensky has proposed appointing Yevhenii Khmara, acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, as the new Minister of Defense. As he holds a military position and Ukrainian law requires ministers to be civilians, he will be appointed interim for now, and when he is demobilized from the front he can be ratified by Parliament to permanently hold the position. The president has promised that Fédorov will continue as a close collaborator without clarifying what his new role will be.

The change occurs on a day when the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer – also departing – has visited the country. Ukraine's European partners are following the events with interest precisely as the first millions of euros from the more than sixty thousand that the Union approved as a loan for Ukrainian defensive infrastructure begin to arrive.

Reactions

Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, has described the minister's dismissal as unexpected, and has stressed that agreements with the European Union on defence matters must remain in force, just as the first loan of support for Ukraine from a package of 60 billion euros arrives. "We were collaborating very closely with Fédorov, many advances were made during this period. Almost daily we saw long-range attacks near Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Crimea, etc.", he stated.

Fédorov's departure has also produced a wave of key resignations within the country's defence structure: Colonel Pavlo Ielizarov has resigned from his post as deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, and technological and military advisors Serhí Flash Beskrestnov and Serhí Sternenko have also left their positions. Both experts, who collaborated closely with Fédorov on technological modernization and the development and acquisition of drones for the battlefield, have lamented that the minister's dismissal will slow down the initiated reforms and the plans to improve defence infrastructure.