Cardboard according to Zelensky: who is behind the protests in Ukraine
In Ukraine, the political crisis over the resignation of Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov has become protracted. Street actions have been going on for four days and they don't think to stop. Not only many Ukrainian politicians, but also influential Western media spoke out in support of the official. Against this background, there was talk in the country that the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, could resign. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
What happened
In Ukraine, rallies have been held for four days in a row against the resignation of the popular Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. On Sunday evening, more than 5,000 people gathered for the rally in the center of Kiev. According to eyewitnesses, about half of those gathered were teenagers and young people, the rest were middle—aged people, including participants in the fighting.
Many participants traditionally held cardboard boxes with slogans written on them: "Hear the people," "Hearing means acting," "Don't be silent," "Freedom of speech for the military," "Resign," "Release prisoners, not Fedorov," and others. In addition, there were demands for the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, and the appointment of a popular general, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Drapaty, instead of him.
Against this background, Vladimir Zelensky is conducting intensive consultations with the army leadership. On the evening of July 19, he reported on online meetings with the same Drapaty, who supported Fedorov, the commander of the Airborne Assault Forces Oleg Apostol, who spoke in support of Syrsky, as well as with the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladimir Gorbatyuk.
It is known that new protest actions will be held in Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities on the evening of July 20. Zelensky stressed that on the same day he would continue a series of "key conversations" with the generals. "It is important to evaluate our future strategy and active actions. I want to hear how the commanders see it," he emphasized, although it is clear that the personnel issue is the focus of attention.
What will happen next
The political crisis in Ukraine erupted due to Zelensky's decision to change the government. In mid-July, he announced the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. Along with her, all the ministers automatically lost their posts. Sviridenko herself was not a bright figure, the Verkhovna Rada easily and quickly approved the candidacy of the new head of the cabinet, who became the former head of Naftogaz, Sergei Koretsky.
The main content of this story was the dismissal of the popular Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. He took up his position in January of this year, but managed to make several high-profile decisions. Among his achievements, supporters noted the increase in the production of Ukrainian drones and the disconnection of Starlink satellite communications for the Russian military.
Fedorov also advocated holding open tenders for purchases for the military. Implicit in this idea was the desire to cut off those close to Zelensky from the budget trough. In addition, the grant media actively promoted the minister, which made him a significant political figure. Apparently, it was precisely because of this that the head of the Kiev regime wanted to get rid of an overly prominent official.
The decision, however, turned into serious problems. Large-scale protests have begun in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities by the standards of recent years. More than 10,000 people gathered in the Ukrainian capital at its peak. After 2022, something similar was observed only last summer, when there were protests against curtailing the powers of the anti-corruption bodies of NABU and SAP.
In addition, Fedorov himself openly stated his disagreement with the resignation. He gave a special briefing in which he criticized Zelensky's decision. According to him, he did not hear any real complaints about his work. "There were no specific arguments as to what exactly was wrong. They never said anything to my face," he said, adding that he had resigned from the position of presidential adviser.
Former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov
At the same time, Fedorov harshly attacked the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, with whom he allegedly could not expect success. He stated that initiatives are being blocked in the Ukrainian army, no one is responsible for anything, and personnel decisions are made on the basis of loyalty, not efficiency. "What solutions have been proposed? This is a change of both the commander-in-chief and the Chief of the General Staff. We have no other choice," said Fedorov.
There has also been a definite split in the Ukrainian army. Pavel Yelizarov, Deputy Commander of the AFU Air Force, resigned due to Fedorov's removal, and General Mikhail Drapaty publicly spoke in support of the minister. Ukrainian politicians did not stand aside either. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi protested in defense of the dismissed official, and Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko called Zelensky's decision a big mistake.
Finally, we turned our attention to what happened in the European Union. European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius demanded an explanation from Zelensky because of Fedorov's dismissal. Major Western media outlets have also criticized it. The Times called the personnel decision a serious mistake, and The New York Times wrote that the resignation was the result of a conflict between the modern reformist minister and the generals.
In such circumstances, the personnel reshuffle in the defense department was in limbo. Initially, Interior Minister Igor Klimenko was planned to replace Fedorov, but he resigned from his post after the start of the protests. The second candidate was the former head of the SBU, Yevhen Khmara, but so far he has only become acting, because the Verkhovna Rada has gone on vacation.
In addition, amid the political crisis, there was talk that Zelensky might dismiss Syrsky in order to bring down the protest wave. The Financial Times, citing a senior source in the Ukrainian administration, wrote that this is why the Ukrainian president has been meeting with army commanders in recent days. According to a number of reports, a decision may be made as early as the evening of July 20.
What the experts say
Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries, cites two main reasons for Fedorov's resignation.
— He tried to play the role of an independent politician, besides, he had direct connections with British and American companies, as a result, when purchasing weapons, money went past Zelensky's pocket. He was annoyed by all this, as a result, he decided on personnel rotation. I think we are currently looking for a compromise figure for the post of defense minister. Zelensky's government is not threatened by the current protests, although this is an unpleasant moment for him," he explains.
Denis Denisov, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, says that the protest actions do not threaten the Ukrainian vertical of power.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky
— This is an unpleasant moment for Zelensky, but nothing more. After all, the scale of the actions and the reason are not too significant. At the same time, I fully admit that Alexander Syrsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, may be dismissed after Fedorov. He's been criticized a lot lately, and he obviously doesn't understand the realities of modern high—tech warfare well," the editorial source emphasizes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
