Thousands rally in Kyiv, renew calls for defense minister's return

Several thousand Ukrainians rallied through central Kyiv on Friday, signaling to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that opposition to his decision to oust Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, widely credited with driving military innovation during Ukraine's conflict with Russia, remains strong.Fedorov, who only took charge of the ministry in January, was dismissed in a surprise and poorly explained government reshuffle in mid-July.Since then, Ukrainians have been gathering next to the presidential office, calling for Fedorov to be reinstated after he refused to accept another government post."I don't like it when decisions are made, and then no one can explain why they were made," Oleksandr, a 40-year-old IT worker, said.Zelenskyy initially said he removed Fedorov because of a major conflict with then commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he dismissed a week later under public pressure triggered by the crisis.But speculation grew that Fedorov was forced out because of his efforts to tackle alleged corruption in the defense sector. Fedorov appeared to lend weight to those claims in a recent interview, though he provided no details.On Friday, aiming to draw the president's attention, protesters marched through Kyiv's historic center until the crowd poured into Khreshchatyk, the heart of the Ukrainian capital.Some Ukrainians questioned whether the conflict with Russia could be won without the technological modernization of the post-Soviet military system – a transformation Fedorov embraced and embodied.His dismissal came as Ukraine was intensifying deep strikes on Russian military and energy targets and reporting gains on the front line.Zelenskyy has so far shown no intention of reversing his decision. He picked Yevhenii Khmara, the acting head of the state security service, to serve as acting defense minister. The position of defense minister is, by law, a civilian office in Ukraine.Matteo Mecacci, director of the European Policy Institute in Kyiv, said that the appointment of Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new top military commander might restore trust among some Ukrainians, but not all.Drapatyi is seen as representing a generational and cultural break from his predecessor, Syrskyi, while aligning with the reform and modernization agenda associated with the ousted defense minister. Before his appointment, the 43-year-old major general publicly backed Fedorov in his dispute with Syrskyi."The way out (for Zelenskyy) probably cannot be limited to another personnel decision, and Fedorov's reappointment now appears unlikely. The focus must therefore be on effective crisis management," he said.Protest organizer Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a military veteran, said Zelenskyy should give Fedorov a year to pursue reforms in the defense sector and then judge him on the results.(Cover: Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov gives a press conference, Kyiv, May 11, 2026. /VCG)