Overview
- The surprise dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov and his replacement with acting minister Yevhen Khmara prompted thousands of Ukrainians to protest in Kyiv and other cities on Thursday and Friday.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he acted after a breakdown in relations between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who clashed over the use of drones, long-range strikes and centralized military command.
- Khmara, the head of the Security Service, is serving as acting defence minister but must leave active service and win parliamentary approval, a process complicated by the law requiring a civilian minister and Parliament’s summer recess.
- The reshuffle has produced immediate resignations, including the Air Force deputy commander, and raised alarms that procurement transparency, soldier-led buying and the rapid drone program that helped recent gains could be disrupted.
- All this has unfolded while Ukrainian and Russian long-range drone and missile campaigns continue to strike targets on both sides, with recent attacks killing civilians and adding urgency to questions about leadership and battlefield strategy.