Thousands of people demonstrated in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Friday to demand the reinstatement of the young and tech-savvy defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was sacked two weeks ago.
Fedorov, 35, was appointed in January on a mandate to modernise and digitise the Ukrainian military. He was removed after months of behind-the-scenes clashes with the army command, who he said resisted his calls to change.
His removal triggered a wave of protests that pushed President Volodymyr Zelensky to also replace army's commander Oleksandr Syrsky, seen as Fedorov's rival.
Several thousands marched in central Kyiv on Friday evening, chanting Fedorov's name and calling: "Bring him back!", an AFP reporter said.
"We want an effective manager to return," said Iryna Tkatchouk, 38, holding a placard saying "Is the old lady deaf?" in a caustic reference to Zelensky.
"We've already seen examples of protests that lasted more than a month, so we can achieve this," she said.
Mykola, a 42-year-old demonstrator who did not give his last name, said: "Fedorov's dismissal is still unclear."
{{/usCountry}}Mykola, a 42-year-old demonstrator who did not give his last name, said: "Fedorov's dismissal is still unclear."
{{/usCountry}}"We want the president to communicate," he added.
During the march, an air raid siren sounded but very few people reacted, even though the organisers had warned that the event would be cancelled in case of an alert and the threat of Russian bombings.
At least one explosion was also heard in the capital, according to AFP journalists, before the alert was lifted.
Fedorov has repeatedly stated that he would only return to the government as defence minister.
In an interview this week to the online outlet Ukrainska Pravda, he said his efforts to make the army's procurement system more transparent had "made a lot of people unhappy" and hinted this may have contributed to his dismissal.
Fedorov is a longtime Zelensky ally, having worked with the president since he took office in 2019.
He won admirers inside and outside the military for his early embrace of drones long before it was clear that would come to dominate the four-and-a-half-year war.
He criticised the army for its Soviet-style approach and, he said, for not caring enough about human losses.
He also tried to reform a military hit by scandals over corruption, equipment shortages, absenteeism, the treatment of conscripts and an unpopular mobilisation drive.
The defence portfolio has been handed to Yevhenii Khmara, a security services official who until now had no political career.
bur-brw-rco/ach/gil
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.