Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov admitted on July 16 that he pushed for Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi to be replaced, a move he said President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected.Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Fedorov said he suggested "drastic personnel decisions," which involved replacing both Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov, who are often criticized by younger soldiers and commanders for their top-down, Soviet-era command culture. Fedorov, a young defense minister who had tried to drastically reform the army and air defense sectors during his half-year tenure before he was ousted by Zelensky on July 15, stressed that "we have no other choice if we want to defeat the enemy asymmetrically, with minimal losses." His press conference came the day after his dismissal as defense minister, a move which caused a seismic political shock in Ukraine. Approximately 1,000-2,000 people gathered in Kyiv on the morning of July 16 to protest his dismissal, some of whom were soldiers and veterans who had hoped Fedorov would help resolve Ukraine's long-standing military issues, from mobilization to the severe lack of manpower. Fedorov said during the press conference that he told Zelensky he would learn to work with Syrskyi despite their differing visions of the war, because "our client is the Ukrainian people." Fedorov said the initiatives were then blocked and that he remained patient until, according to him, Syrskyi issued an ultimatum. "And instead of winning, he figured out how to divide the country," Fedorov said of Syrskyi during a press conference in Kyiv.