For the third consecutive day, large-scale civil protests have shaken the largest cities in Ukraine. Thousands of supporters of the dismissed Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov took to the streets of Kiev, Lviv, Odessa and Dnipro. The discontent in the country escalated into a deep political crisis after the protesters officially demanded the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, and the immediate convening of the Verkhovna Rada.
Civil pressure against “Soviet methods“ in the army
The main focus of discontent remains “Ivan Franko“ Square in the capital, where citizens raised slogans such as “Syrian out“ and “You can't win a war in 2026 with Soviet thinking“. According to reports by foreign media, including detailed material by Ukrainska Pravda (pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/07/18/8044733/), civil society accuses Syrsky of deliberately blocking innovations related to the mass use of drones on the battlefield - a strategy actively promoted by the 35-year-old reformer Fedorov.
In addition to military castlings, the demonstrators expressed strong indignation at the fact that members of the Ukrainian parliament are on summer “vacation“ during a state crisis. It is being urged that MPs urgently return to work to consider the case.
Zelensky is considering replacing the commander-in-chief
Pressure from the street is already having an impact on the country's governance. The leading Bulgarian agency BTA (www.bta.bg/bg/news/world/europe/1169414-hilyadi-hora-protestiraha-za-vtori-poreden-den-v-kiev-sreshtu-osvobozhdavaneto-n) notes that the conflict between Fedorov and Syrsky has caused paralysis in communication at the highest level, which has forced President Volodymyr Zelensky to make changes.
Information from the influential publication Financial Times, quoted by the Bulgarian newspaper Dnevnik (www.dnevnik.bg/sviat/voinata_v_ukraina/2026/07/18/4936930_zelenski_tursi_zamiana_na_gen_sirski/), reveals that Zelensky is already holding emergency meetings with corps commanders from the front. The head of state is considering the possible removal of Gen. Sirski in order to dampen the revolutionary mood in the rear. At the moment, Yevgeny Khmara has been proposed as the new Minister of Defense, but the final decision depends on the vote in the Verkhovna Rada, which the protesters are demanding happen immediately.