Ukrainians protest and Z-bloggers celebrate after Zelensky fires the defense minister who cut Russia off from Starlink and flooded the front with drones

On the evening of July 15, news broke that Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov would be dismissed from the post he had held since January. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has yet to formally approve his removal. Fedorov confirmed the news, acknowledging at a press conference that he had clashed with Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s commander in chief. The dismissal set off protests in cities across Ukraine, with demonstrators calling for his reinstatement and Syrsky’s removal. Here is how people in Ukraine and abroad have reacted to Fedorov’s ouster.

Some statements have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. Their meaning is unchanged.

Residents of Ukraine

In Kyiv, demonstrators filled Ivan Franko Square carrying signs in support of Fedorov and chanting “Bring back Fedorov,” “Shame,” and “Syrsky must go.” Rallies also took place in Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Uzhhorod, Dnipro, Ternopil, and Odesa.

United24

The media arm of Ukraine’s state fundraising platform

United24 said its editorial team had paused publication because its journalists, editors, producers, and social media staff were joining the protests over Fedorov’s dismissal.

Volodymyr Zelensky

President of Ukraine

Zelensky said a wartime president should not have to choose between Syrsky and Fedorov. He had wanted unity, he said, and they could not manage it — a problem not only for them but for him as well. He was not absolving himself of responsibility, he added, and had badly wanted both of them to strengthen Ukraine, but things were what they were. In a situation like this, he said, a choice was unavoidable, because the two of them would not sit down together without him.

Fedorov would stay on his team, Zelensky said, though Fedorov’s exact role would be announced later. As for those who had come out to protest, he said Ukraine was fighting for freedom and democracy, so people did what they wanted — they had wanted to take to the streets, and they were right to. Ukraine could conduct itself, he said, so that even in wartime, for all the hardship and the restrictions, people could still make their will known.

Oleksandr Syrsky

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

I am proud that the Kyiv defensive operation in 2022 allowed us to defend our capital. And now this city can host briefings, shape a vision [of the future], and make decisions.

I will do everything in my power to make sure such things go on happening in a free and independent Ukraine. To achieve this, we need to focus on the war and on an effective strategy that is now producing concrete results.

Thank you to Mykhailo Fedorov for his work as defense minister. I hope he stays part of Ukraine’s team.

Pavlo Yelizarov

Deputy Commander of Ukraine’s Air Force

Unfortunately, in the fifth year of the war, I have submitted my resignation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I believe that removing Mykhailo Fedorov does great evil to the country’s defense capability. Glory to Ukraine!

Serhiy Beskrestnov (call sign “Flash”)

(Former) Adviser to Ukraine’s Defense Minister

As of today, I am no longer an adviser to Defense Minister Fedorov. Dear manufacturers, developers, and military personnel — I can no longer help you from inside the Defense Ministry. I’m sorry. Being part of Fedorov’s team was an honor for me. There were so many plans and ideas for the future, but unfortunately… The enemy is gloating in their group chats that I’m out of the Defense Ministry. I feel awful. But I won’t give up on my path — I’ll keep defending the country and supporting my fellow service members. Mykhailo Fedorov, thank you for everything.

Serhiy Sternenko

(Former) Adviser to Ukraine’s Defense Minister

From this moment, I am no longer an adviser to the defense minister, which undoubtedly reduces my ability to help bring real change to the army’s use of drones. Mykhailo Fedorov is the best defense minister in the history of independent Ukraine. Thank you for the example of leadership and service. It is a shame that our state moved much further from victory today. Real reform was never even allowed to begin, though a great deal did change. Boundless respect to Mykhailo. Gratitude to all who are not silent. To be continued.

Andrius Kubilius

European Commissioner for Defense and Space

This came as a great surprise. We worked very closely with Mykhailo Fedorov, and we are still working with him — before he took over the Defense Ministry, and especially after. A great deal was truly accomplished during that period. It is very important for us to continue what we started — especially regarding the financing of Ukraine. Sixty billion [euros] is an enormous sum.

Boris Pistorius

German Defense Minister

[In a message addressed to Fedorov:] Your courage when it came to innovation, not least, gave Ukrainians new momentum in this long war.

Robin Wagener

Member of the Bundestag, head of the German-Ukrainian parliamentary group

I still cannot understand the defense minister’s dismissal. Mykhailo Fedorov proved himself a competent, inventive reformer who was modernizing Ukraine’s Armed Forces and its defense industry. I saw that for myself in my interactions with him.

Dmitry Peskov

Kremlin spokesman

We are, of course, monitoring all news related to the Kyiv regime, especially amid the ongoing special military operation [SVO]. But, at the end of the day, it makes no difference who the defense minister is. What matters to us is that there is someone in the Kyiv regime who will take responsibility and make the responsible decision that enables a peaceful settlement. In Kyiv, it is well known what decisions need to be made.

Andrei Kolesnik

State Duma deputy, member of the defense committee

Fedorov was dismissed precisely because he broke up the corruption schemes that had been in place for years. For some, war is business — people were making good money, but he came in, broke up those corruption schemes, tried to get a handle on weapons, tried to improve supply. [Zelensky] can just keep going in the same direction, getting rid of everyone.

Alexei Zhivov

Z-blogger

Overall, it is very good that Zelensky took him off running the army. He was too smart and effective an enemy. Things should get easier now. Zelensky blamed Fedorov’s dismissal on the failed reform of the TCCs [territorial recruitment centers]. Apparently, Fedorov was supposed to turn the manhunters [a derisive term for TCC press gangs] into salesmen of happiness, but something went wrong…

Svyatoslav Golikov

Z-blogger, author of the Telegram channel “Philologist in Ambush”

So, Syrsky and Zelensky have finally devoured Fedorov, the energetic, creative technocrat who broke up the usual schemes in defense procurement. What his team achieved in just six months (!!!) is quite substantial. I see the personnel reshuffle at the enemy’s defense ministry as very good news: as history shows, the individual’s role in systemic processes is often decisive, and so the changes he did make may well prove reversible.

Voennyy Osvedomitel (Military Informant)

Russian pro-war Telegram channel

Fedorov was behind the spread of digitalization and drones in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, as well as the shutdown of Russian forces’ Starlink terminals, which caused Russian troops serious problems. So his removal is more likely than not to work in Russia’s favor.

Dmitry Tsybakov

Political scientist writing for the pro-war Telegram channel “Milblogger Kotenok”

Fedorov from Zaporizhzhia is a typical “vyrus” [a Russian nationalist slur for Ukrainians] and leader of a group of techno-fascists who rely on remote means of armed combat and unlimited aerial terror. Fedorov brought innovative supply and troop-support methods, borrowed from corporate management, into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and at the same time seized control of billions of dollars in funding. He is the only civilian wartime minister able to shape the fighting itself.

[Ukrainian and Western] propaganda credits Ukraine’s ability to run strategic operations in the air and at sea specifically to the group of civilian technocrats and financial operators he led. Zelensky and company undoubtedly saw a repeat of 2022–2023 in this. Back then, seizing the battlefield initiative immediately stirred presidential ambitions in Valery Zaluzhny, then the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now Zelensky is not repeating his old mistakes and is removing a likely rival without waiting for the man to fail. He has plainly chosen political expediency over military necessity.

Osvedomitel (Informant)

Russian pro-war Telegram channel

Fedorov, Ukraine’s former minister of digital transformation, brought a great deal into the Armed Forces of Ukraine that was new and unwelcome for Russian forces: the Starlink shutdown, an expansion of medium-range kamikaze drone strikes on supply lines, the introduction of AI into the Ukrainian military, and more. Little is known about the new defense minister, but Zelensky’s removal of so productive and — for Russia — dangerous a figure from a leadership post is very good news, all the more so because the dismissal will in all likelihood also bring a purge of Fedorov’s people from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.