KYIV, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky rocked his wartime government, as thousands took to the streets Thursday across Ukraine to protest the ouster of his young defense minister — who is seen as the creator of the country’s successful drone technology but has clashed with the traditional military establishment. The personnel restructuring, which included replacing his prime minister, could become a test of Zelensky’s political power as Ukraine’s battle against a full-scale Russian invasion approaches four-and-a-half years. Zelensky has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, but he has periodically shuffled his cabinet. These moves threw the Ukrainian military leadership into an unwelcome crisis at a time when its actions against Russia began to bear fruit, and at a time when Moscow launched continuous air attacks.
Two people were killed and five others, including a child, were injured when Russian missiles struck the capital, Kiev, overnight, the Ukrainian emergency service said. In making the changes, Zelensky pointed to friction between outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and General Oleksandr Sirsky, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. “I’m just making it clear that if the two sides cannot solve a problem, I will have to solve it,” Zelensky said at a press conference.
The outgoing Defense Minister was seen as a man of modernization. Fedorov, 35, is an active modernizer whose technological expertise is partly credited with greatly improving Ukrainian military performance in recent months against the larger Russian army. He will leave the government after only six months in office. Fedorov appeared at a press conference wearing a dark shirt and jeans, and accused Sersky of obstructing necessary reforms because “war has completely changed” due to new technology such as drones. During his time in office, he restricted Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better utilize its medium-range offensive capabilities, giving Kiev significant battlefield advantages. Fedorov said he was willing to work with Sersky, “but we faced a situation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked.” “Under this arrangement (with Sersky as commander), I personally do not know how the war can be won,” he said. On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his biggest accomplishment: redirecting payroll funds into medium-range strike capabilities, fiber-optic drones, reconnaissance systems and other technology. He pointed to the expansion of drone purchases, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballistic missile tests, and sweeping changes in military procurement. But he acknowledged that he was unable to complete the Defense Department’s organizational transformation “in accordance with NATO standards and common sense,” move all procurement to competitive bidding, and build a culture of accountability. Sersky did not appear in public, but thanked Fedorov in a Facebook post and said he hoped to continue serving Ukraine. “I hope he continues to stay in the Ukrainian national team,” Sersky said, without going into details. Zelensky said that he is considering Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko as one of the candidates to succeed Fedorov. It is unclear when lawmakers will vote on the new defense minister. Zelensky described the difficult relationship between the Ministry of Defense and the army at multiple levels, not just a matter of personalities, and said that both sides share responsibility for the consequences. “Together we win, and together we are responsible for the things that cause confusion and public reaction,” Zelensky said, standing next to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is on his final foreign visit before leaving office next week. The demonstrators, mostly young, are backed by Fedorov Sirsky, 60, who initially organized the defense of Kiev in February 2022 and seven months later masterminded a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region.
Born in 1965, he attended the Higher Military Command School in Moscow before serving in the Soviet Artillery Corps before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Western officials and analysts say the Ukrainian army has massed under Fedorov’s command, slowing Moscow’s advance on the front lines to a virtual standstill and striking refineries and other energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, causing widespread fuel shortages.
Zelensky’s decision to fire him despite this record upset many people. Before becoming Defense Minister in January, Fedorov headed Ukraine’s digital transformation policies. It has gained popularity by leading the rapid development and diffusion of drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms. While he was a minister, he moved to combat corruption, an issue that carried special weight with Ukrainians who repeatedly protested against corruption.
He said in interviews that fighting corruption means working against the interests of groups that have long benefited from programs within the ministry. He was seeking to reform the arms purchasing process to make it more transparent. He also promised comprehensive military reforms, saying that the army had faced about 200,000 deserters and evaders of military service for about two million people. The mostly young demonstrators, who took to the streets of Kiev and other cities in support of Fedorov, made rude remarks about the current military leader, chanting “Go, Sirsky!” “A European army for a European country!” Bohdan Horyak, a Kiev resident, said he was “very angry” about Fedorov’s exit. “I am not deeply involved in internal political discussions, but this is someone who shows results on the battlefield,” Horiak told the Associated Press. “We see the results, we feel the fighting spirit and confidence in victory growing.” “And after six months, he gets removed from office? Come on.” Russian military correspondents and pro-Kremlin bloggers have enjoyed the controversy. Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov described Fedorov’s statements as a “rebellion” against Zelensky. Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov, resigned due to Fedorov’s dismissal. In his resignation letter posted on social media, he said that this would weaken Ukrainian air defenses and lead to more deaths due to Russian missile and drone attacks. “I believe that the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov represents a great evil for the country’s defense capacity,” he wrote on Facebook. The head of the state energy company is the new prime minister. Parliament has overwhelmingly approved the appointment of Serhiy Koretsky, head of the state energy company Naftogaz, as the country’s new prime minister. In nominating Koretsky, Zelensky cited his record in the energy sector and said he was best prepared to lead Ukraine through another winter, when Russian attacks on the power grid will intensify. Unlike other senior government officials, the 48-year-old engineer has not risen through political parties, parliament or the civil service. He spent more than two decades running fuel and food companies before being tapped to run some of Ukraine’s most troubled state-owned energy companies, earning a reputation as an effective crisis manager who can make them profitable. Zelensky has faced protests before over his decisions. Large demonstrations broke out in July 2025 when he fast-tracked a law that would have limited the independence of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs. The uproar threatened his leadership for the first time since the Russian invasion, and he quickly reversed course and introduced legislation to restore the services’ independence.
