In clear evidence of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s popularity in civil society, Ukrainians have organised a rare wartime protest to defend and support him.
The calls to demonstrate emerged on social media almost immediately after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Fedorov on Wednesday evening.
Social media anger over the decision quickly turned into plans to gather across major cities at 09:01 on Thursday, immediately after a daily nationwide minute of silence which commemorates fallen Ukrainian fighters and civilians.
It is the first time since last summer’s protests in support of Ukraine’s anti‑corruption watchdogs that online mobilisation has spilled back onto the streets, with demonstrators directing their frustration squarely at Zelenskyy’s decision.
Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a war veteran who was a leading organiser of last summer’s mass protests in support of NABU and SAPO, posted on social media ”The defence minister is being removed in the middle of effective – finally effective! – reforms, replaced by someone under whom any hope of reform can be forgotten,” referring to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, who is poised to replace Fedorov.
“I call on all caring people to come out tomorrow at 9:01 a.m. to Franko Square and show the president that we are against constant reshuffles in the government and replacing effective ministers with convenient opportunists.”
“We will never defeat Russia as long as the same total stagnation and corruption rule our army and our ministries,” Koziatynskyi wrote.
The deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Pavlo Yelizarov, announced his resignation on July 16, saying the dismissal of Fedorov – whose key priorities included reforming the air defence sector – would cause more casualties and destruction in Ukraine from Russian missile and drone attacks.
“I believe that the removal of M. Fedorov is a great evil for the country’s defence capability,” Yelizarov said on Facebook, attaching a copy of his resignation letter.
Other opinion leaders from the military and civil society joined the call.
Serhii Sternenko, a prominent Ukrainian activist and blogger who was Fedorov’s adviser on drone warfare said that “Mykhailo Fedorov is the best Minister of Defence in our entire history”, and called his firing “the greatest demoralisation since the war began”.
Ukraine’s ‘cardboard revolution’
As the social media mobilisation gained pace, Ukrainians began swapping slogan ideas for hand‑made signs sketched on pieces of cardboard. Most of those posting their works‑in‑progress called on Zelenskyy to reverse his decision and keep Fedorov in his position.
“The people protect the minister of defence”, “More work done in half a year than some people do in two”, “You have fired the wrong one” are among the signs posted online.
According to numerous reports, Zelenskyy dismissed Fedorov following his conflict with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Friction arose between Fedorov and Syrskyi over Fedorov’s proposals for military reform, specifically regarding how the Defence Ministry operates.
The dispute between the two men has been described as a generational clash between a young, innovative manager with a startup background and a more traditional military general.
Many Ukrainians unleashed their anger directly at Syrskyi, who has kept his own job, accusing the president of sacrificing a popular defence minister at a critical moment in the war.
When Fedorov confirmed his dismissal on Wednesday evening, he posted an account of what he considers his team’s main achievements and failures during his six-month tenure.
Speaking of “failures”, he said he did not manage to complete the organisational transformation of the Ministry of Defence in line with NATO standards and “common sense”.
“The new structure has been put in place, many people have been made redundant,” he said, adding that “numerous processes have been set in motion.”
“However, it was necessary to be even more decisive in dismissing those who were holding back the changes.”