Protests have erupted in Ukraine over the firing of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and the dispute between the reformist politician and Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrsky came to light during the second major cabinet reshuffle of the year, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
There were demonstrations in Kiev and other cities in Ukraine, including Dnipro (Dnipro) and Odessa.
The political storm in Kiev erupts amid ongoing Russian airstrikes, Associated Press notes. The personnel changes could become a test of Zelensky's power in the course of Ukraine's nearly four and a half year-long struggle against Russia's full-scale invasion, the American news agency predicts.
Earlier today, the Ukrainian parliament approved Zelensky's proposal to appoint Koretsky as the new prime minister of Ukraine. Until now, Koretsky was the CEO of the state-owned oil and gas company “Naftogaz“.
Zelensky justified his choice of Koretsky with his long professional experience in the energy sector. According to the president, the current head of “Naftogaz“ is the most suitable candidate to prepare Ukraine for another winter in conditions of war and against the backdrop of increasing Russian attacks on the energy grid.
The dismissed Minister of Defense – Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, is considered a modernizer whose expertise is credited with helping Ukraine's military performance improve significantly in recent months in the face of a larger Russian army. Fedorov left the government just six months after taking office. Zelensky did not publicly explain the reasons for Fedorov's removal from office.
Syrsky, 60, is credited with organizing Kiev's defenses immediately after the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Seven months later, he led a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region.
Syrsky was born in 1965 in the Soviet Union and graduated from the Moscow Higher Military Command School, after which he served in the Soviet artillery troops.
Today's protests were mainly attended by young people, who chanted "Fedorov!" and made crude remarks about his potential successor as minister, General Syrsky. "Syrsky, go away!" and “European army for a European country!“, were some of the other slogans chanted by the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Fedorov today accused Syrsky of trying to divide Ukraine, Agence France-Presse added.
“Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically, which is the mission of the commander-in-chief, he (Syrsky) found a way to divide the country we live in today“, Fedorov said at a press conference in Kiev.
According to Western officials and analysts, the Ukrainian armed forces have rallied under Fedorov's leadership and have managed to slow the advance of Russian troops along the front line to an almost complete lull, the AP notes. Another success of Fedorov's leadership has been the strikes on energy facilities located deep in Russian territory and the fuel shortages caused by the attacks in Russia. Many are left stunned by Zelensky's decision to fire Fedorov despite these successes, the AP also writes.