Categories
Mass Protests Across Ukraine Oppose Ouster of Defense Minister

Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Ukraine’s Ousted Defense Minister Attacks the Military’s Old Guard
Mykhailo Fedorov defended his efforts to modernize the Ukrainian armed forces as thousands of people protested his dismissal.
Listen · 9:23 minBy Cassandra VinogradAndrew E. Kramer and Oleksandr Chubko
Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko reported from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Andrew Kramer from Kyiv.
July 16, 2026Leer en españolUkraine’s ousted defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, issued a fervent defense on Thursday of his efforts to modernize the Ukrainian military and directly attacked the country’s top general as thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest Mr. Fedorov’s dismissal.
At a news conference in Kyiv, the capital, Mr. Fedorov said that he had urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to remove his primary antagonist in the military hierarchy, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander in chief, but that the president declined.
Mr. Fedorov, who clashed repeatedly with Mr. Syrskyi while championing a high-tech vision of warfare dominated by drones, accused the commander in chief of “blocking all of our initiatives.”
“Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically,” Mr. Fedorov, 35, said, referring to the drone campaign, Mr. Syrskyi “figured out how to split the country.”
In a social media post, Mr. Syrskyi, 60, did not directly address Mr. Fedorov’s accusations but said that the former defense minister’s news conference had been possible only because of the military’s successes in defending Ukraine. “We need to focus on the war and on an effective strategy that is currently demonstrating concrete results,” Mr. Syrskyi wrote, thanking Mr. Fedorov for his service.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT