‘for the president, this will be humiliation’: the Guardian on pressure on Zelensky to reinstate Fedorov

Pressure is mounting in Ukraine on President Volodymyr Zelensky to reinstate dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Activists have announced open-ended protests across the country, The Guardian reports.

Zelensky’s attempts to ease public tensions by offering Fedorov the post of Deputy Prime Minister for Technological Development came to nothing — Fedorov declined. Fedorov insists on returning specifically to the post of defense minister, believing that only in that role can he implement his plan to modernize and reform the Ukrainian army. However, the position is already filled: Zelensky appointed commander of the Special Operations Forces Yevhen Khmara as acting minister.

Activists called for a new protest on Friday evening outside the Presidential Office at Ivan Franko Square in Kyiv. This was announced by veteran Dmytro Koziatynsky, who believes the political crisis in Ukraine could drag on for at least another week.

“We must not forget the second demand of the protest — to return Mykhailo Fedorov to the post of defense minister. We must do everything possible to make the authorities hear and fulfill all of society’s demands,” Koziatynsky wrote on social media.

One senior military source described to The Guardian the dilemma in which the president finds himself.

“If he reverses his decision, it will be a big victory for Fedorov. For the president, it will be humiliation and will show his weakness. But if he doesn’t, the protests will continue,” the source told the outlet.

The crisis in military leadership, according to The Guardian, arose from a generational conflict between 35-year-old Fedorov, described as an advocate of technological modernization, and 60-year-old Syrsky, a representative of the Soviet military school. Last week Zelensky said he had tried to reconcile both sides but was ultimately forced to dismiss Fedorov.

On Tuesday, Zelensky dismissed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky and appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new head of the AFU as part of sweeping changes to the top military command. On Wednesday, Zelensky held a meeting with senior military leadership, after which Drapatyi wrote on Facebook that he had been tasked with “strengthening offensive operations across all domains.” Among other priorities he cited planning operations behind enemy lines, developing new technologies, and building up the army’s combat capabilities. As part of the same personnel reshuffle, Major General Ihor Skibiuk will replace Andrii Hnatov as Chief of the General Staff. Zelensky described Skibiuk as “a very experienced officer who defended Ukraine side by side with the new Commander-in-Chief.”

Drapatyi’s appointment was broadly welcomed. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the army trusts the new commander-in-chief.

“I know him as a strategically minded, brave and decisive person. He values people. Ukrainians place great hopes in him,” Poroshenko said.

Another senior military official also welcomed the appointment but warned of serious challenges ahead. In his view, one of them could be Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a new wave of mobilization after the September elections, which would allow a significant increase in the size of Russian forces.

Russian Z-bloggers acknowledged that Drapatyi is a formidable opponent: “He is smart, strong and hates Russia.” They also noted that Drapatyi rose from battalion commander to commander-in-chief of the AFU — a career path that, in their view, would be virtually impossible in Russia, where advancement often depends on connections and “intrigue.”

The Kremlin, however, said the appointment would change nothing. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “I don’t think this will lead to any changes,” adding that Moscow has no intention of halting the full-scale offensive that has now been under way for nearly four and a half years.

In his farewell address, Syrsky defended the results of his tenure, including the defense of Kyiv and Kharkiv in the early weeks of the Russian invasion in 2022. He said that this year Ukraine had reclaimed more than 700 square kilometers of territory, and announced the creation of a separate branch of unmanned systems forces — the first of its kind in the world.

“I am handing my successor an army that not only holds the line but goes on the offensive — with initiative, with structure, with people who know how to defeat the enemy,” Syrsky said, expressing hope that offensive operations would continue going forward.