Fedorov's dismissal and the protests that followed in Ukraine
A look back at the days around 20 July 2026, after a cabinet reshuffle and the removal of the defence minister brought demonstrators onto the streets.
What had Kyiv's streets been protesting in the days before 20 July 2026? The answer ran back to a reshuffle that began on 14 July, when Yuliia Svyrydenko stepped down as prime minister as part of a cabinet overhaul carried out by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The next day, 15 July, Zelenskyy dismissed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a move that prompted protests across the country. As reported at the time, the president replaced him with Major-General Yevhenii Khmara.
Demonstrations spread
On 16 July, protests took place in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities against the decision. The same day, Pavlo Yelizarov, deputy commander of the Air Force, resigned from his post in protest at Fedorov's removal. Also on 16 July, Zelenskyy initiated the appointment of Serhii Koretskyi as prime minister.
On 17 July, the demonstrations in Kyiv entered a second day near the Presidential Office Building. The protesters made two demands: that Fedorov return as Minister of Defence, and that Oleksandr Syrskyi resign as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
What the sequence showed
Taken together, the events of 14 to 17 July set a change of government, a change at the defence ministry, a resignation within the Air Force command and street protests in several cities in close succession. By 20 July 2026 the questions they raised remained in view: who would lead the government, who would run defence policy, and how the president would respond to public pressure over the military leadership.
