Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a rising backlash on Thursday over his move to fire the popular defence minister, as thousands protested outside the president’s office, a senior air force commander resigned and ruling party lawmakers warned they lacked the votes to approve his candidate.
The backlash marked one of the most significant public displays of dissent against Zelenskyy since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. It has exposed rare divisions within his parliamentary majority, which had largely rallied behind his wartime leadership and rubber-stamped his cabinet nominees.
At the heart of the dispute is the removal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is credited with accelerating weapons procurement, drone production and reforming the notoriously opaque and bureaucratic ministry. His ministry’s innovative use of mass-produced drones is seen as having helped slow the advance of its larger, better-resourced opponent in recent months.