Kyiv protests over defence minister's removal enter second day
A look back at 17 July 2026, when demonstrators gathered near the Presidential Office Building after the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov.
What did it mean when protesters stayed on the streets of Kyiv for a second day? On 17 July 2026, demonstrators gathered again near the Presidential Office Building, continuing a protest that had begun the previous day over the removal of Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defence.
The dispute began on 15 July 2026, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Fedorov. As reported at the time, the decision provoked protests across Ukraine. On 16 July, demonstrations took place in Kyiv and in other cities, directed against the president's decision to replace Fedorov with Major-General Yevhenii Khmara.
Demands on the street
On 17 July, the protesters in Kyiv set out two demands. They called for Fedorov to be returned to the post of Minister of Defence. They also demanded the resignation of Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A resignation from within the military
The unrest was not confined to the street. On 16 July, Pavlo Yelizarov, deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, resigned from his position in protest at Fedorov's removal.
Taken together, the events of those three days formed a sequence: a dismissal on 15 July, nationwide protests and a senior military resignation on 16 July, and a second day of demonstrations outside the president's offices on 17 July.
