For a fifth consecutive day, activists carrying banners and flags gathered near the monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in Lviv, Ukraine, on July 20, 2026, protesting the resignation of Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has moved to remove the country’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, while also seeking to bring former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov back into government only days after dismissing him.
The sweeping reshuffle follows nearly a week of nationwide unrest and marks one of Ukraine’s most serious political crises since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
In a late-night televised address on Tuesday, Zelenskyy announced that Mykhailo Drapatyi would become the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. He also thanked Syrskyi, the outgoing commander, for what he described as a crucial role in defending Kyiv during the early stages of the war.
“The operations of Ukraine’s Defense Forces are ongoing and must continue without disruption. Ukraine’s long-range sanctions plan and our mid-strike program will be carried out with absolute precision,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation.
Drapatyi expressed gratitude to Zelenskyy and praised Syrskyi’s efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces. “I will work responsibly, focused, and with respect for the people who defend our state today,” Drapatyi wrote in a Facebook post.
Zelenskyy also said he had met with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and offered him a “worthy leadership position” that would enable him to unite Ukraine’s technological capabilities and support their continued development.
Mark Rutte (R), Secretary General of NATO, and Mykhailo Fedorov (L), Minister of Defence of Ukraine, walk to a joint meeting on February 12, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.
Global Images Ukraine | Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images
Fedorov, who is seen as a popular figure and an advocate of Ukraine’s drone warfare, was dismissed last week in a surprise move that triggered protests in several Ukrainian cities.
Those protests stretched into their fifth consecutive day on Monday, with demonstrators holding placards and waving flags as part of a push for Zelenskyy to reinstate Fedorov and dismiss Syrskyi.
In a post on social media, Fedorov congratulated Drapatyi on his appointment as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military.
“This is a breath of fresh air and a new source of hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice. It is the voice of change that could no longer be ignored,” Fedorov said via X.
Having boosted drone production and capabilities in more than four years of war, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and military assets, targeting high-profile oil refineries in major cities as part of a sustained push to raise the economic cost of Russia’s conflict and weaken Russian forces in southern Ukraine.
Defense experts and strategists have described Ukraine’s drone campaign as pivotal in helping to stall Russia’s military momentum, while also warning that Kyiv’s deep-strike successes have drastically raised the risk of escalation.
