Zelenskyy reshuffle sparks protests as Ukraine names interim defence minister
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed Mykhailo Fedorov and installed Yevhen Khmara as interim defence minister. The reshuffle has widened a rift over military strategy and triggered protests during continued Russian attacks.
Ukraine was fighting Russia's more than four-year-old invasion under an interim defence minister on Friday, a day after a government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and younger innovators over how to wage the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's shake-up, which included the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and the appointment of a new prime minister, unsettled the country's military leadership and sparked a public outcry.
The move tested Zelenskyy's authority at a time when Ukraine had gained traction in recent months. Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj Gen Yevhen Khmara, acting head of the state's security service and a respected special operations expert, to take over the defence minister's duties, and that he would ask Parliament to formally approve his appointment, as required by law.
That process could be delayed by procedural hurdles. Ukrainian law requires the defence minister to be a civilian, so a serving soldier or security service officer must leave active duty before being formally appointed. Lawmakers are also on summer recess until mid-August. It was not clear whether Khmara would have enough votes in Parliament to be confirmed.
According to Zelenskyy, ties between 35-year-old Fedorov and Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the 60-year-old commander of Ukraine's armed forces who began his military career in the former Soviet Union, had broken down, making Fedorov's position untenable. Fedorov, who is credited with advancing Ukraine's drone technology and tackling corruption in the military, defended his record after only six months in government. "We transformed Ukraine into a global tech leader and a defence powerhouse," he said on social media on Friday.
Fedorov's departure drew thousands of people to protests in cities across Ukraine on Thursday, and more demonstrations were held in Kyiv on Friday. One sign read, "Don't ruin something that works." Protester Olha Horoshkova told The Associated Press, "I don't think they should replace an effective leader and manager like Fedorov." She said her father had been serving in the armed forces since 2022 and had seen "noticeable changes" under Fedorov. "There's a little less bureaucracy now, and things have genuinely become easier," she quoted her father as saying.
Another protester, Yehor Pohrebniak, said Syrskyi had recorded some notable successes during the war. But he added: "Syrskyi's vision of war is already outdated, because war is changing very rapidly ... We need more technological solutions." Khmara, chosen by Zelenskyy to replace Fedorov, has led the SBU security service since January. He had earlier headed the SBU's elite Alpha special forces unit and is known as an architect of Operation Spiderweb, one of Ukraine's most striking attacks in which Russian air bases were hit last year. He joined the Alpha unit in 2011, became its commander in 2023 and was promoted to major general the following year.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Russian attacks overnight killed at least four civilians and wounded 20 others. In the southern port city of Odesa, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said two people were killed and 10 others, including children, were injured in a Russian missile strike. One of those killed was a woman who had been walking in a park with her children, who survived, he said. In the Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed and five injured in a strike, according to Zelenskyy. He also said three people were injured by Russian shelling in the northeastern Kharkiv region, while officials reported more injuries in strikes on five other regions.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 243 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday. Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, said three civilians were killed and seven others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks over the previous 24 hours. Robert "Madiar" Brovdi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said Ukrainian drones struck 12 Russian vessels in the Black Sea overnight, including nine dry cargo ships, one tanker, one gas carrier and one tugboat. He said Ukrainian forces had hit 159 Russian vessels in the Black and Azov seas over the past 12 days as part of a campaign to stop Russian shipping. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber in Engels, about 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The reshuffle has left Ukraine balancing a political dispute at the top of its defence establishment with continued attacks on both sides, even as Zelenskyy moves to install Khmara and protests continue over Fedorov's removal.
With PTI Inputs
Ukraine was fighting Russia's more than four-year-old invasion under an interim defence minister on Friday, a day after a government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and younger innovators over how to wage the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's shake-up, which included the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and the appointment of a new prime minister, unsettled the country's military leadership and sparked a public outcry.
The move tested Zelenskyy's authority at a time when Ukraine had gained traction in recent months. Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj Gen Yevhen Khmara, acting head of the state's security service and a respected special operations expert, to take over the defence minister's duties, and that he would ask Parliament to formally approve his appointment, as required by law.
That process could be delayed by procedural hurdles. Ukrainian law requires the defence minister to be a civilian, so a serving soldier or security service officer must leave active duty before being formally appointed. Lawmakers are also on summer recess until mid-August. It was not clear whether Khmara would have enough votes in Parliament to be confirmed.
According to Zelenskyy, ties between 35-year-old Fedorov and Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the 60-year-old commander of Ukraine's armed forces who began his military career in the former Soviet Union, had broken down, making Fedorov's position untenable. Fedorov, who is credited with advancing Ukraine's drone technology and tackling corruption in the military, defended his record after only six months in government. "We transformed Ukraine into a global tech leader and a defence powerhouse," he said on social media on Friday.
Fedorov's departure drew thousands of people to protests in cities across Ukraine on Thursday, and more demonstrations were held in Kyiv on Friday. One sign read, "Don't ruin something that works." Protester Olha Horoshkova told The Associated Press, "I don't think they should replace an effective leader and manager like Fedorov." She said her father had been serving in the armed forces since 2022 and had seen "noticeable changes" under Fedorov. "There's a little less bureaucracy now, and things have genuinely become easier," she quoted her father as saying.
Another protester, Yehor Pohrebniak, said Syrskyi had recorded some notable successes during the war. But he added: "Syrskyi's vision of war is already outdated, because war is changing very rapidly ... We need more technological solutions." Khmara, chosen by Zelenskyy to replace Fedorov, has led the SBU security service since January. He had earlier headed the SBU's elite Alpha special forces unit and is known as an architect of Operation Spiderweb, one of Ukraine's most striking attacks in which Russian air bases were hit last year. He joined the Alpha unit in 2011, became its commander in 2023 and was promoted to major general the following year.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Russian attacks overnight killed at least four civilians and wounded 20 others. In the southern port city of Odesa, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said two people were killed and 10 others, including children, were injured in a Russian missile strike. One of those killed was a woman who had been walking in a park with her children, who survived, he said. In the Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed and five injured in a strike, according to Zelenskyy. He also said three people were injured by Russian shelling in the northeastern Kharkiv region, while officials reported more injuries in strikes on five other regions.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 243 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday. Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, said three civilians were killed and seven others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks over the previous 24 hours. Robert "Madiar" Brovdi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said Ukrainian drones struck 12 Russian vessels in the Black Sea overnight, including nine dry cargo ships, one tanker, one gas carrier and one tugboat. He said Ukrainian forces had hit 159 Russian vessels in the Black and Azov seas over the past 12 days as part of a campaign to stop Russian shipping. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber in Engels, about 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The reshuffle has left Ukraine balancing a political dispute at the top of its defence establishment with continued attacks on both sides, even as Zelenskyy moves to install Khmara and protests continue over Fedorov's removal.
With PTI Inputs
Ukraine was fighting Russia's more than four-year-old invasion under an interim defence minister on Friday, a day after a government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military's old guard and younger innovators over how to wage the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's shake-up, which included the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and the appointment of a new prime minister, unsettled the country's military leadership and sparked a public outcry.
The move tested Zelenskyy's authority at a time when Ukraine had gained traction in recent months. Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj Gen Yevhen Khmara, acting head of the state's security service and a respected special operations expert, to take over the defence minister's duties, and that he would ask Parliament to formally approve his appointment, as required by law.
That process could be delayed by procedural hurdles. Ukrainian law requires the defence minister to be a civilian, so a serving soldier or security service officer must leave active duty before being formally appointed. Lawmakers are also on summer recess until mid-August. It was not clear whether Khmara would have enough votes in Parliament to be confirmed.
According to Zelenskyy, ties between 35-year-old Fedorov and Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the 60-year-old commander of Ukraine's armed forces who began his military career in the former Soviet Union, had broken down, making Fedorov's position untenable. Fedorov, who is credited with advancing Ukraine's drone technology and tackling corruption in the military, defended his record after only six months in government. "We transformed Ukraine into a global tech leader and a defence powerhouse," he said on social media on Friday.
Fedorov's departure drew thousands of people to protests in cities across Ukraine on Thursday, and more demonstrations were held in Kyiv on Friday. One sign read, "Don't ruin something that works." Protester Olha Horoshkova told The Associated Press, "I don't think they should replace an effective leader and manager like Fedorov." She said her father had been serving in the armed forces since 2022 and had seen "noticeable changes" under Fedorov. "There's a little less bureaucracy now, and things have genuinely become easier," she quoted her father as saying.
Another protester, Yehor Pohrebniak, said Syrskyi had recorded some notable successes during the war. But he added: "Syrskyi's vision of war is already outdated, because war is changing very rapidly ... We need more technological solutions." Khmara, chosen by Zelenskyy to replace Fedorov, has led the SBU security service since January. He had earlier headed the SBU's elite Alpha special forces unit and is known as an architect of Operation Spiderweb, one of Ukraine's most striking attacks in which Russian air bases were hit last year. He joined the Alpha unit in 2011, became its commander in 2023 and was promoted to major general the following year.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Russian attacks overnight killed at least four civilians and wounded 20 others. In the southern port city of Odesa, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said two people were killed and 10 others, including children, were injured in a Russian missile strike. One of those killed was a woman who had been walking in a park with her children, who survived, he said. In the Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed and five injured in a strike, according to Zelenskyy. He also said three people were injured by Russian shelling in the northeastern Kharkiv region, while officials reported more injuries in strikes on five other regions.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 243 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday. Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, said three civilians were killed and seven others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks over the previous 24 hours. Robert "Madiar" Brovdi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said Ukrainian drones struck 12 Russian vessels in the Black Sea overnight, including nine dry cargo ships, one tanker, one gas carrier and one tugboat. He said Ukrainian forces had hit 159 Russian vessels in the Black and Azov seas over the past 12 days as part of a campaign to stop Russian shipping. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber in Engels, about 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The reshuffle has left Ukraine balancing a political dispute at the top of its defence establishment with continued attacks on both sides, even as Zelenskyy moves to install Khmara and protests continue over Fedorov's removal.
With PTI Inputs
