Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is facing one of the biggest displays of dissent since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion after a move to oust his defence minister prompted a public and political backlash.
The firing late on Wednesday of 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov after only six months prompted angry demonstrations across Ukraine and the resignation of a senior air force commander.
After lawmakers suggested Zelenskiy’s party could not garner enough votes for his preferred replacement – Ihor Klymenko, previously interior minister – the president was forced into a concession: his office said it would not put forward Klymenko for the key role and was interviewing new candidates.
Zelenskiy has spent much of the day in talks with his chief of staff, former head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, seeking to co-ordinate a path out of the turmoil, aides to the president said.
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In a press conference on Thursday, Fedorov said he had rejected an offer to stay on as a presidential adviser and framed his firing as the fruit of a power struggle with Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, over his efforts to modernise the defence department.
He and Syrsky both asked Zelenskiy to fire the other man, but the president refused each demand until finally relenting when the general gave Zelenskiy an “ultimatum” to get rid of him, Fedorov said.
Fedorov was appointed only in January, but he is credited with accelerating procurement and drone production by the notoriously opaque ministry. Ukraine’s innovative use of mass-produced drones is seen as having helped slow Russia’s advances in recent months.
The firing has exposed rare divisions within the military and even in Zelenskiy’s parliamentary majority, which has largely rallied behind his wartime leadership and rubber-stamped his cabinet nominees.
The deputy leader of the air force resigned in protest, saying the ousting would do “a great evil for the country’s defence capability”. An MP from Zelenskiy’s party also quit and appeared at a press conference with Fedorov to show support.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in a public square outside the president’s office. They carried signs demanding that Fedorov remain in office, chanting his name along with cries of “We’re not suckers!” and “Shame!”
“This is what happens when you take people’s hope away from them,” said Ksana Nechyporenko, a demonstrator working in Ukraine’s drone industry.
The protests come almost exactly a year after Zelenskiy attempted to strip Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies of their independence and subordinate them to his handpicked prosecutor-general. At the time, parliament rubber-stamped the legislation but was forced to quickly backtrack after public uproar.
Much of the pressure then fell on Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s then chief of staff, who resigned in November. This time, it is more squarely focused on Zelenskiy himself.
In perhaps the strongest public criticism of Zelenskiy by a senior figure in wartime, Fedorov said Ukrainians were not protesting for him personally.
“They took to the streets because when Ukraine had seized the initiative on the battlefield and in the skies, that trajectory was broken,” he said. “Ukrainians can sense when decisions are no longer being made based on the values this country stands for.”
He added of the army chief: “We faced a complete obstruction of all our initiatives and Syrsky is not ready to openly address problems ... Instead of figuring out how to asymmetrically defeat Russia, [Syrsky] figured out how to split the country.”
Defence industry officials, senior Ukrainian officials, MPs from Zelenskiy’s party and others familiar with the matter have also said – some publicly – that Fedorov had been a barrier to interests seeking to profit from Ukraine’s vast wartime defence budget.
Syrsky has not responded directly to Fedorov’s comments. He wrote on social media: “I wish him continued success and hope he remains part of Team Ukraine.”
At a joint press conference with visiting British prime minister Keir Starmer, Zelenskiy said he was “sure” Fedorov would “remain in my team, and we will talk a little later about what it will look like”. Zelenskiy said he “would really like unity” between the leadership of the military and the defence ministry.
The president’s office was in search of a new candidate for defence minister who would prove “strong” and not “emotional”, it said. It added that Budanov himself would not be a candidate, nor would Mykhailo Drapatyi, a senior commander popular among the troops whose name has been floated by some officials.
Ruling party lawmakers meanwhile said the mood in parliament was “explosive”.
On late Thursday afternoon, MPs approved a new cabinet – except for the positions of defence and foreign minister – in a sweeping reshuffle, Zelenskiy’s third in the space of a year that was intended to re-energise the wartime government.
The appointees include new prime minister Sergii Koretskyi. As chief executive of state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz, he is seen as a highly capable manager who helped Ukraine weather the brutal last winter. Zelenskiy has tasked him with repeating the feat this year. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
