Ukrainian soldiers outraged over removal of defence minister Fedorov

Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front lines are expressing fury over the abrupt removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, with troops telling the BBC the decision was a blow to morale at one of the most dangerous moments of the war. The dismissal, announced Wednesday, triggered street protests in Kyiv and several other cities by Thursday morning — and now the anger is spreading deep into the ranks of the military itself.

Soldiers say they weren’t warned

Multiple servicemen contacted by the BBC described the dismissal as sudden and disrespectful to the armed forces. One soldier stationed near Zaporizhzhia, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said the men in his unit found out through social media. “Nobody told us anything. We read it on our phones between shifts,” he said. That’s a common complaint among troops, who say decisions affecting their leadership are made in Kyiv without any consultation with those actually doing the fighting. Still, open criticism of presidential decisions carries real risks in wartime Ukraine, and the fact that so many soldiers are speaking out publicly is striking.

Fedorov was popular with frontline troops

Fedorov, 33, built a reputation as a rare technocrat in Ukraine’s defence establishment — someone who cut through bureaucracy and delivered results. He was widely credited with accelerating the procurement of drones and electronic warfare equipment during a period when battlefield technology was shifting fast. Soldiers say that mattered enormously. Units that received upgraded drone systems in late 2023 and early 2024 credited his ministry’s efficiency with keeping them better equipped than expected against Russian forces.

Losing him now, with fighting intensifying along a 1,000-kilometre front, feels badly timed to many in uniform.

Civilian protests add pressure on Zelensky

Thursday’s protests weren’t huge by pre-war standards — crowds of around 200 to 400 people gathered in Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti, with smaller demonstrations in Lviv and Dnipro. But any public dissent in wartime Ukraine carries weight. Protesters held signs reading “Bring back Fedorov” and chanted outside government buildings for several hours before dispersing peacefully. A spokesperson for the presidential administration said the government “respects the right of citizens to express their views” but declined to say whether President Volodymyr Zelensky would reconsider the decision. That’s not the firm reassurance many were hoping for.

What happens next

Ukraine’s parliament is expected to confirm a replacement minister within days, though no candidate has been officially named. Defense analysts warn that a prolonged leadership vacuum at the ministry could slow procurement decisions at a critical time. And with Western partners already watching Kyiv’s internal politics closely, any sign of instability won’t go unnoticed in Washington or Brussels. For the soldiers waiting on the front lines, the concern is simpler and more immediate — they want to know who’s actually going to keep the ammunition and equipment coming.