Thousands protest for second day in Kyiv over ouster of popular defence minister

Thousands of people turned out in Kyiv on Friday to protest Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's sacking of his popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov as part of a controversial reshuffle.

The protesters, many of them carrying the Ukrainian flags and placards expressing support for Fedorov, gathered in the capital for the second day running to protest the decision, an AFP journalist saw.

During his barely six months in the post, Fedorov repeatedly clashed with the army's top commander in his efforts to digitise and modernise an army fatigued after four years fighting off the Russian invasion.

Read moreHow rivalry with a top general brought down Ukraine’s popular defence minister Fedorov

A day after being forced to resign, Fedorov on Thursday accused Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky of dividing the country.

He criticised slow bureaucracy and a lack of flexibility, questioning whether Ukraine could defeat Russia with Syrsky in charge of the army.

Zelensky himself lamented that the two sides were barely on speaking terms.

"A president in wartime should not have to choose in such a situation, honestly," he said. "I would very much like unity."

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Following Fedorov's removal, Zelensky announced Thursday he had appointed Yevgeniy Khmara – head of Ukraine's SBU security service – as acting defence minister.

Already on Thursday, around a thousand people protested Fedorov's removal in Kyiv and there were protests too in other cities.

Read moreMykhailo Fedorov: Ousted defence chief's reforms riled Ukrainian army bosses

During his tenure as defence minister, he boosted military salaries, announced plans for partial demobilisation and introduced game-like rewards systems for units that kill the most Russian soldiers.

But Fedorov, who has never served in the army, clashed repeatedly with the military command's more traditional approach.

Even before becoming defence chief, Fedorov spent much of the war promoting advanced technology, like drones, as a way to offset Ukraine's shortages in manpower, money and ammunition.

A June 2026 poll from the Kyiv Institute of Sociology said Fedorov ranked among the country's most trusted public figures.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)