Outgoing defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov slammed military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, saying he had ‘split the country’.
Rare protests have broken out in the Ukrainian capital against the dismissal of the country’s defence minister, part of a broader cabinet reshuffle initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that has exposed rifts in Ukraine’s military establishment.
Hundreds demonstrated near the Ivan Franko National Theatre in central Kyiv on Thursday against the move to replace Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was credited with boosting Ukraine’s drone warfare during his short six-month tenure.
He then appointed Yevgeniy Khmara – head of Ukraine’s SBU security service – as acting defence minister.
Writing on X after his appointment, Koretsky said his “foremost task is to fully equip” Ukraine’s defence forces and “accelerate the expansion” of its defence industrial base.
Outgoing defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov slammed military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, saying he had ‘split the country’.
Rare protests have broken out in the Ukrainian capital against the dismissal of the country’s defence minister, part of a broader cabinet reshuffle initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that has exposed rifts in Ukraine’s military establishment.
Hundreds demonstrated near the Ivan Franko National Theatre in central Kyiv on Thursday against the move to replace Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was credited with boosting Ukraine’s drone warfare during his short six-month tenure.
Protesters also rallied in several other cities, including Lviv, Odesa and Dnipro, while in Kyiv, they chanted “Shame!” and carried placards reading “The Russians are celebrating”.
Writing on X, Fedorov said it had been “a great honour to serve the Ukrainian people” as defence minister, before outlining what he described as the ministry’s key achievements during his tenure. They included disabling “Starlink access for Russian forces” and launching programmes to expand Ukraine’s domestic drone production during the ongoing war with Russia.
In comments to reporters, Fedorov criticised military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, with whom he’s been in dispute with, and questioned whether Ukraine could defeat Russia with him in charge of the army.
“Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically – which is the commander-in-chief’s task – he figured out how to split the country,” said Fedorov, according to AFP.
Fedorov criticised slow bureaucracy and a lack of flexibility, saying “in this configuration, I personally don’t know how to win the war”.
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He also alleged that Syrskyi engineered his removal through an ultimatum issued to Zelenskyy after months of clashes.
A 35-year-old technology specialist, Fedorov was previously Ukraine’s first minister for digital transformation. He is recognised for having streamlined bureaucracy and introduced a more data-driven approach to the war against Russia.
Supporters say Fedorov’s efforts to reform defence procurement and tackle corruption made enemies within parts of the political and military establishment. Critics say he failed to deliver quickly enough on promises to overhaul military recruitment.
Zelenskyy on Thursday issued a plea for “unity” within the military’s ranks. He then appointed Yevgeniy Khmara – head of Ukraine’s SBU security service – as acting defence minister.
“Khmara has gained extensive and, in many respects, unprecedented experience with technological combat operations,” Zelenskyy said in a Facebook post.
Ukraine’s parliament approved Zelenskyy’s new wartime government on Thursday, confirming Naftogaz chief Sergiy Koretsky as the new prime minister, replacing Yulia Svyrydenko.
Koretsky headed Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, throughout last winter, when repeated Russian drone and missile attacks on energy infrastructure triggered widespread power cuts and heating outages during freezing temperatures.
Before joining Naftogaz, Koretsky built his career in Ukraine’s private fuel industry, leading the WOG petrol station network and founding the Idealist Coffee Co chain. He headed the state-owned energy firms, Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, between 2022 and 2025 before taking charge of Naftogaz.
Writing on X after his appointment, Koretsky said his “foremost task is to fully equip” Ukraine’s defence forces and “accelerate the expansion” of its defence industrial base.
“We will continue to give special attention to frontline communities that endure Russian attacks every day,” he said, adding that Ukraine’s strategic goal of European Union membership “remains unchanged”.
Parliament also voted to appoint deputy economy minister Taras Vysotskyi as new agriculture minister and Vsevolod Chentsov as Deputy Prime Minister for European integration, while Serhii Marchenko retained his post as finance minister.
