Protests spread across Ukraine against the removal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov

Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov is leaving his post, sparking significant public outcry. Meduza reports that demonstrators gathered on Thursday in ten Ukrainian cities—including Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa—chanting 'Bring back Fedorov' and demanding his reinstatement. The departure prompted an extraordinary military response: Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov, deputy commander of Ukraine's Air Force, formally requested discharge from the armed forces, citing the defense minister's removal as his reason. Yelizarov, whom Fedorov had appointed six months earlier, said the removal was 'a great evil for the country's defense capability' in the fifth year of war. The defense minister's exit is part of a broader government reshuffle that includes the dismissal of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

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