What did Fedorov's dismissal set off in Ukraine?

What happened in Ukrainian politics in the days before 20 July 2026, and why did it draw people onto the streets? The sequence began with a government reshuffle and ended with protests demanding the return of a dismissed minister.

A reshuffle and a dismissal

On 14 July 2026, Yuliia Svyrydenko stepped down as prime minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle carried out by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On 15 July, the president dismissed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a decision that prompted protests across the country. The president replaced him with Major-General Yevhenii Khmara.

On 16 July, Zelenskyy also initiated the appointment of Serhii Koretskyi as prime minister. The reshuffle therefore touched both the head of government and the defence portfolio within a few days.

Protests and a resignation

On 16 July, demonstrations took place in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities against the decision to replace Fedorov. The same day, Pavlo Yelizarov, deputy commander of the Air Force, resigned from his post in protest at the removal.

On 17 July, protests entered a second day in Kyiv, near the Presidential Office Building. Demonstrators demanded two things: that Fedorov be returned as defence minister, and that Oleksandr Syrskyi resign as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What the episode showed

The demands tied the dismissal to the military leadership as well as to the cabinet. The protesters did not limit themselves to the minister's fate; they also named the Commander-in-Chief. A senior serving officer's resignation in protest added an institutional dimension to what might otherwise have been street politics alone.

By 20 July 2026, the political picture was one of an unfinished reshuffle: a prime minister's appointment initiated, a new defence minister named, and public pressure aimed at both the president's decision and the army's top commander.