Kropyvnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv: Ukrainians took to streets in support of Fedorov. VIDEO+PHOTOS
On the morning of 16 July, a campaign in support of the sacked Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov got underway across Ukraine’s regions.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing regional Telegram channels.
As of 09:30, around 60 participants had gatheredat Heroes of Maidan Square in Kropyvnytskyi, according to the Telegram channel ‘My Kropyvnytskyi’.
People are protesting against a possible change of the Defence Minister and are holding placards reading: "It was fine as it was", "Keep the only decent minister", "One step forward, two steps back", "Send the Soviet relics into retirement" and "We need to get rid of the Muscovites, not Fedorov".
In Vinnytsia, residents also took to the streets to protest against personnel changes in the government, in particular the dismissal of Fedorov. People began gathering near the Vinnytsia City Council.
In Mykolaiv, a rally with cardboard placards took place at around10:00, attended by approximately 30 people, according to MykVisti.
Protesters held signs reading "The jackals have deceived us again", "Vova, we have questions", "You’re fighting the wrong battle" and "My love, we’re killing innovation". The protest was sparked by the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov from his post as Minister of Digital Transformation.
Residents of Odesa also came out to support Fedorov. Carrying placards reading "Bring Fedorov back", "Don’t replace those who are changing the country", "The Kremlin thanks you for the personnel changes" and others, they gathered for a rally on Deribasivska Street, according to the Telegram channel "Odesa INFO".
In Kharkiv, people gathered in Shevchenko Park, writes Kharkiv Today. They are holding placards reading: "Don’t kill our hope for victory! Put Fedorov back in his post!", "Rotation isn’t needed at the rear", "Effectiveness is no reason for resignation", "Bring Fedorov back", "Sacking Fedorov is like shooting yourself in the foot".
What led up to this?
- On 14 July, the Verkhovna Rada backed a resolution on the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The entire Cabinet automatically resigned along with her.
- On 15 July, Mykhailo Fedorov announced that he was stepping down as head of the Ministry of Defence.
- Prior to this, a number of media outlets and MPs had reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to replace him with Ihor Klymenko – the current Minister of Internal Affairs.
