Kyiv shaken as Zelensky dismisses defense minister Fedorov to prevent bloodshed after generals' ultimatum

The desperate situation in which Ukraine and the Ukrainian army have found themselves is proven by the background of the "dismissal" of Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov by President Zelensky.

Information indicates that the chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, and Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov were in continuous, open confrontation.

Volodymyr Zelensky admitted to MPs of the ruling party Servant of the People that there was an open conflict between the chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, and the until recently Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov, according to a report by Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources.

The revelations

According to the same sources, on the evening of Wednesday, 15/7, during a meeting with the MPs of his party's parliamentary group, Volodymyr Zelensky explained that he decided to remove Mykhaylo Fedorov due to the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.

“I cannot allow, while the country is at war, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to fight each other.

Under normal circumstances, I should have replaced both.

But I cannot do it at the same time,” Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly told the MPs.

According to the publication, the meetings of the Supreme Military Council had turned into continuous verbal confrontations between the representatives of the ministry and the military leadership.

Ultimatum

At one point, Volodymyr Zelensky was faced with an ultimatum from the top officers: either they would remain or the team of Mykhaylo Fedorov.

“They live in two different worlds.

Misha wants to digitalize everything and create a system based on technology.

The military, on the other hand, just want their voice to be heard.

They demand the supply of specific weapons systems, but he refuses and funds other directions.

They simply stopped understanding each other,” one of the MPs conveyed, attributing the words to Volodymyr Zelensky.

To the point of absurdity

Another MP described the situation as follows: “The situation reached the point of absurdity.

Oleksandr Syrsky would come and say that Mykhaylo Fedorov did not approve funding for specific operations.

Then Mykhaylo Fedorov would come and reply that all the funds had already been allocated, but they were being used incorrectly, not in the right way and not where they should be.

And this was repeated constantly,” said the Ukrainian MP.

Fire also over the mobilization

Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Mykhaylo Fedorov of not proceeding with the reform of the mobilization system.

For the position of Defense Minister, he intends to propose Ihor Klymenko, who until the resignation of the government was Minister of Internal Affairs.

According to the Ukrainian president, Ihor Klymenko will be able to “put things in order” in the staffing system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On 14 July, the Ukrainian Parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, which automatically led to the resignation of the entire government.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian Parliament is expected to appoint Serhii Koretskyi as the new Prime Minister.

However, the key question was whether Mykhaylo Fedorov would retain his position in the new government.

On Wednesday evening, after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, it became known that he is ultimately leaving the Ministry of Defense.

Protests across Ukraine against the dismissal of Fedorov

In Kyiv, Poltava, Lutsk, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, and Lviv, citizens took to the streets protesting the dismissal of Mykhaylo Fedorov from the position of Defense Minister.

Images of the protest rallies were published by the media and on social media.

In Kyiv, the protesters gathered outside the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre, the nearest open square to the Presidential Office, and then moved towards the Khreshchatyk metro station.

Memories of the mobilizations for. NABU

Mostly young people are participating in the mobilizations, holding homemade placards with slogans in their hands, as had also happened a year ago in the protests in favor of NABU.

One of the placards reads that Mykhaylo Fedorov must remain at the Ministry of Defense, while the chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, should be transferred to the Skala regiment, which has gained a reputation for torture and ill-treatment of soldiers.

Departures from the army

At the same time, Colonel Pavlo Yelyzarov submitted an application for resignation from the position of deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, as well as departure from the Armed Forces, in protest against the dismissal of Mykhaylo Fedorov. He made the announcement himself through his Facebook page.

“In the fifth year of the war, I submitted my resignation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

I consider the removal of M. Fedorov to be a major blow to the country's defense capability,” wrote Pavlo Yelyzarov.

At the same time, he published the text of his application, in which he characterizes Mykhaylo Fedorov as the inspirer of strategic reforms in the field of air defense, warning that their suspension “will lead to numerous casualties and widespread destruction.”

Pavlo Yelyzarov also requested, after his departure from the army, to be posted for service at the recruitment office of the Pechersk district in Kyiv.

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