Zelensky Fires Popular Defence Minister, Sparks Protests
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- President Zelensky fired defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov after just six months, triggering protests in cities across Ukraine on Thursday with more demonstrations expected Friday.
- Fedorov, 35, was widely credited as the driving force behind Ukraine's tech innovation and anti-corruption efforts; Zelensky said relations between Fedorov and armed forces commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi had broken down, making the position untenable.
- Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, head of the SBU security service since January and architect of last year's Operation Spiderweb strikes on Russian air bases, will take over as defence minister — but Ukrainian law requires the role to be held by a civilian, and Parliament is on summer recess until mid-August.
- Russian missile and drone strikes overnight killed at least four civilians and wounded 20, including two killed in Odesa — one a woman walking in a park with her children — and two killed in Zaporizhzhia, with three more injured in Kharkiv.
- Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences downed 243 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday, while Ukrainian drone attacks killed three civilians and injured seven in the Russia-occupied part of Kherson region, according to Moscow-appointed official Vladimir Saldo.
Why it matters: The shakeup comes as Ukraine has gained ground against Russia's invasion, and losing Fedorov — the public face of wartime tech innovation and anti-corruption — risks demoralizing civilians and the military at a critical moment. With Parliament on summer recess until mid-August, formalizing Khmara's appointment faces bureaucratic delay even as Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities continue.
