Ukrainians in Kyiv protested Saturday in support of Mykhailo Fedorov, who was ousted days earlier as the nation’s minister of defense.Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA/Shutterstock
Ukrainians in Kyiv protested Saturday in support of Mykhailo Fedorov, who was ousted days earlier as the nation’s minister of defense.
Zelensky held meetings with senior military commanders for a second day Sunday, after a protest of thousands in Kyiv on Saturday had called for the ouster of Ukraine’s top general.
Zelensky provoked anger among some in the military and society for his surprise decision last week to remove Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who has clashed with Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy over war strategy.
Supporters of Fedorov, the 35-year-old advocate of Ukraine’s drone program, hail his championing of technology that has helped halt some Russian advances and his implementation of digital tenders in an effort to cut corruption.
Zelensky has said he wants a new defense minister who will work more harmoniously with 60-year-old Gen. Syrskiy, who commanded forces in successful early battles in the 4½-year war but has since been blamed for excessive focus on tactical decisions, favoring certain units loyal to him and hanging on to territory at the cost of excessive casualties.
The president said late Saturday that he had spoken with both men. “Decisions regarding the army will be worked out,” he said, without elaborating.
Fedorov posted: “Dialogue is happening. I believe we will succeed.”
Syrskiy, meanwhile, said he had visited the northeastern front. “I listened to the requests of commanders and took the necessary decisions to strengthen our troops,” he said.
People in Kyiv demonstrated against the decision by Ukraine’s president to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister.Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
The ruckus is blemishing what had been a successful period for Ukraine’s military, which has stopped some Russian advances and even regained a bit of territory over recent months.
Zelensky now faces a series of unappealing choices. If Fedorov and Syrskiy can’t work together, then reinstating Fedorov would require dismissing his top general, whom he handpicked for the job. Taking no action could lead protests to grow, as they did last year when the president sought to slash the powers of Ukraine’s anticorruption police. He eventually reversed course.
On Sunday, Zelensky said he spoke with top military commanders including Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy, who has publicly praised Fedorov. A day earlier he met with other generals commanding Ukrainian front-line troops.
At the same time, both Russia and Ukraine are intensifying their long-range strike campaigns against each other.
Zelensky said Sunday that Ukraine had struck three oil depots in the Stavropol region near Ukraine’s border with drones, as well as hitting three Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea. On Saturday, Ukraine employed a new tactic in striking logistics hubs of a Russian e-commerce company that it said were used for delivering components used for military drones.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 18 out of 41 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine overnight. Zelensky called on allies to provide more interceptors, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin, stymied on the battlefield, is relying on missiles to prosecute the war.
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The War in Ukraine/ News and insights, selected by the editors
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