Thousands of residents of Kyiv flooded the streets on Thursday to protest against the planned removal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, just hours after the Ukrainian parliament appointed a new prime minister. Fedorov himself confirmed he had rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to become a presidential advisor.
According to Christopher Miller, a correspondent for the Financial Times, demonstrations of this scale in the regularly shelled Ukrainian capital are rare. The protesters demanded that Fedorov remain in his post.
The Verkhovna Rada approved Serhii Koretsky as Ukraine’s new prime minister on Thursday, with 289 votes in favor in the 450-seat parliament. Speaking before the vote, Koretsky declared that his government’s priorities would be defending Ukraine, maintaining economic stability, and further integrating the country into the European Union.
New prime minister appointed after sudden dismissal
The 48-year-old Koretsky replaces Yulia Svyrydenko, whose dismissal was announced by President Zelensky on Sunday and accepted by parliament on Tuesday. Justifying the choice, Zelensky argued that Ukraine is preparing for another winter season and that Koretsky is the best-prepared person to lead the government.
On the day of the protest, Reuters reported that Fedorov had turned down Zelensky’s proposal to become a presidential advisor. The previous day, the Ukrainian Pravda portal revealed that the president planned to remove Fedorov as defense minister. According to sources cited by the outlet, the decision stems from a conflict between Fedorov and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, as well as other military leaders.
Fedorov refuses advisor role, protest erupts
Fedorov himself confirmed his departure in a Telegram post. – It was a great honor to serve the Ukrainian people as Minister of Defense. I will continue to work for the mission with which I originally came to the Ministry of Defense. To be continued – wrote Fedorov. Sources told Ukrainian Pravda that his likely successor is the current acting interior minister, Ihor Klymenko.
The scale of the protest, underscored by Miller, shows the strong opposition to the planned personnel changes. The demonstrations took place just hours after another Russian attack on the capital. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles. At least two people were killed and six wounded, including a 16-year-old boy. This was the seventh Russian missile attack on Kyiv since the beginning of July, with dozens killed and over a hundred wounded in previous strikes.
Źródło: Polsat News, Fot. Polsat News
