{"id":820296,"date":"2026-07-23T06:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820296\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T06:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:29:16","slug":"zelenskyy-under-growing-pressure-to-reinstate-sacked-defence-minister-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820296\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyy under growing pressure to reinstate sacked defence minister | Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was under growing pressure to reinstate his sacked defence minister on Wednesday, after campaigners said they would continue indefinite nationwide protests until Mykhailo Fedorov got his job back.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy bowed to public demands by firing Ukraine\u2019s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi<\/a>. He appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new head of the country\u2019s armed forces<\/a>, as part of a radical reshuffle of the top military command.<\/p>\n

But Zelenskyy\u2019s attempts to defuse popular anger by offering Fedorov a new government role so far appear to have failed. Fedorov has reportedly turned down the post of deputy prime minister for technological development.<\/p>\n

Instead, he wants to be reinstated as defence minister, arguing that it is the only way of implementing his ambitious plan for modernising and reforming Ukraine\u2019s army.<\/p>\n

The post is no longer vacant after Zelenskyy appointed a special forces commander, Yevhenii Khmara, as acting minister.<\/p>\n

Mykhailo Fedorov was ousted as defence minister last week after just six months in the role. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Protesters have called for a rally to be held on Friday evening outside Zelenskyy\u2019s presidential office in Ivana Franka Square, Kyiv<\/a>. The announcement \u2013 made by prominent veteran Dmytro Koziatynsky \u2013 suggests that Ukraine\u2019s political crisis is likely to roll into a second week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not forget about the second demand of the protest \u2013 to return Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of minister of defence,\u201d Koziatynsky wrote on social media. He added: \u201cWe must do everything possible to ensure that the government hears and satisfies all the demands of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

One senior army source told the Guardian that Zelenskyy faced a major dilemma. \u201cIf he reverses his decision, this would be a big victory for Fedorov. It would be humiliating for the president and reveal him to be weak. But if he doesn\u2019t, the protests will keep going,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

In recent months Ukraine\u2019s unmanned systems forces have carried out a series of long and mid-range strikes on Russian territory<\/a>, as well as on occupied southern Ukraine and Crimea. Targets have included oil refineries and military depots, as well as ships and oil tankers in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea.<\/p>\n

Protesters in Kyiv had called for the dismissal of Oleksandr Syrskyi. Photograph: Alessio Mamo\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Overnight, Ukrainian drones hit warehouses belonging to the Russian online retailer Wildberries<\/a>, sparking large fires in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk. The attacks were part of an ongoing campaign to cripple Russia\u2019s economy, so that it can no longer fund its war.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy held a meeting on Wednesday with his top generals. Afterwards, Drapatyi wrote on Facebook that he had been given instructions to \u201cintensify offensive operations in all domains\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said other tasks included planning operations behind enemy lines, developing new technologies, and building up the military\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n

Drapatyi\u2019s appointment has been met with widespread approval. Ukraine\u2019s former president Petro Poroshenko said the army trusted him. \u201cI know him as a strategically minded, brave, and decisive man. He cherishes people. The Ukrainian people place great hopes in him,\u201d Poroshenko said.<\/p>\n

One high-ranking military figure also welcomed Drapatyi\u2019s appointment but said he faced significant challenges. \u201cIt won\u2019t be easy,\u201d they predicted. One was the likelihood that Vladimir Putin will bring in some form of mobilisation after elections in September, flooding the battlefield with new Russian recruits.<\/p>\n

The crisis in Ukraine\u2019s military leadership was triggered by a generational conflict between Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech-savvy moderniser, and Syrskyi, a 60-year-old Soviet-trained traditionalist. Last week Zelenskyy said he had tried to mediate between the two sides, before firing Fedorov as a last resort.<\/p>\n

In a valedictory post, Syrskyi defended his record, which includes defending Kyiv and Kharkiv in the early weeks of Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion. He said Ukraine had retaken more than 700 sq km (270 sq miles) \u200bof Ukrainian territory this year and said that he had created a separate drone branch of the armed forces \u2013 the first of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am handing over to my successor an army that is not only holding the defence but is also on the offensive \u2013 with initiative, with structure, with people who know how to beat the enemy,\u201d he said. He added that he sincerely hoped the offensive would continue, adding: \u201cEverything is in place for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ZelenskyyZelenskyy ousts Ukraine army chief after protests \u2013 The Latest<\/p>\n

As part of his shake-up, Zelenskyy said \u2060major general \u2060Ihor \u200bSkybiuk would replace \u2060Andrii Hnatov as the head of \u2060the general \u200bstaff. \u200cThe president described Skybiuk as a \u201chighly experienced officer who defended Ukraine shoulder \u200cto shoulder with the \u200bnew commander-in-chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russian bloggers have acknowledged that Drapatyi is a formidable opponent. \u201cHe\u2019s smart, strong, and hates Russia,\u201d one remarked.<\/p>\n

They also noted that he had risen from battalion commander to head of the armed forces \u2013 a career which is practically impossible in Russia, where promotions are decided on the basis of connections and \u201cintrigue\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Drapatyi\u2019s appointment would not alter the situation on the frontline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think this will lead to any changes,\u201d Putin\u2019s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow has no intention of stopping its full-scale offensive, which has lasted for nearly four and a half years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Volodymyr Zelenskyy was under growing pressure to reinstate his sacked defence minister on Wednesday, after campaigners said they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-820296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}