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Ninth day of Kyiv protests over Fedorov's dismissal
Summary
A look back at 24 July 2026, when demonstrators kept up pressure in the Ukrainian capital after the removal of the defence minister.
What did the streets of Kyiv look like on 24 July 2026? For the ninth consecutive day, thousands of people protested in the Ukrainian capital, demanding that Mykhailo Fedorov be reinstated as Minister of Defence.
The demonstrations were a response to Fedorov's dismissal, which had already set off a rapid chain of decisions at the top of Ukraine's military and political leadership.
The command change three days earlier
On 21 July 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi from the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This came amid protests over the removal of Fedorov. Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi, until then commander of the Joint Forces, as Syrskyi's replacement.
A Ukrainian-language report from the same day also described the change at the head of the armed forces as taking place against a backdrop of protests. That account framed the demonstrators' demand as the removal of Syrskyi.
Where matters stood on 24 July
By 24 July 2026, the change of commander-in-chief had not ended the street action. The crowds in Kyiv, according to reports at the time, were still calling for Fedorov's return to the defence ministry, and the protest had run for nine days in a row.
