KYIV: Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities on Thursday morning against the removal of popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
AFP reporters in Kyiv saw more than a thousand people gathered on a central square, singing the Ukrainian national anthem, waving Ukrainian and EU flags and chanting “shame” and “bring Fedorov back.
Only appointed six months ago, Fedorov carved a reputation as a modernizer who tried to reform the Ukrainian military, worn down by more than four years of the Russian invasion.
His removal risks throwing uncertainty into the army at a time when Ukraine in one of its best positions in the war for months, having halted the pace of the Russian advance and pounding Russian oil and military sites with long-range drones.
Fedorov announced late Wednesday he was stepping down, saying it was a “great honor to serve the Ukrainian people,” amid a sweeping government reshuffle ordered by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
