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Protests in Ukraine against President Zelensky’s removal of defence minister | BBC News

2026-07-16 News & Politics
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Description

Protests have been taking place in several Ukrainian cities against President Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise dismissal of popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. A crowd of people - mostly young - gathered in Kyiv on Thursday morning, holding up signs reading "Hands off Fedorov" and "Stop sabotaging victory!" and chanting “Shame!". Zelensky's decision has causing significant upset among commentators and the military as well as parts of civil society. The rumours that the end of Fedorov's tenure was related to tensions between him and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi were all but confirmed by Fedorov himself and Zelensky. Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news #Ukraine #BBCNews

Top Comments (10)

@winning21210 2026-07-16

I'm in Lviv right now. I can hear the chants from my hostel dorm.

43 1 replies
@Moningsha 2026-07-17

Hmm because he exposed corruption,they just removed him.

11
@Tasha-s7x3r 2026-07-16

the key phrase here - 'he exposed millions in spending'

26 2 replies
@RamziDabbagh 2026-07-16

They shouldn’t have fired him.

28 4 replies
@eddieyeoh4098 2026-07-16

Regime change!!!

15
@chrismeese3666 2026-07-16

It is good that Ukrainians can protest. Leaders need to make decisions. Unity is tremendously important in any organisation.

50 24 replies
@PunishedElephant 2026-07-16

those men are gonna be visited by mysterious vans

38 2 replies
@andymac7584 2026-07-16

Zelensky going full dictator mode.

97 12 replies
@stuartwray6175 2026-07-16

0:48 He made enemies by exposing "billions in defence spending"? Who at the BBC worded that? He opened an audit that exposed over $7 billion in overspending, and subjected ministers to lie detector tests. That signals large scale corruption

7
@konstantinbush295 2026-07-16

This guy started gaining more popularity than Zelensky. And the usurper Zelensky got rid of him. The same thing already happened with General Zaluzhny, whom Zelensky dismissed, fearing his popularity. It is obvious that the usurper Zelensky will continue the war to preserve his power and will eliminate all his rivals.

5

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