"Fight with drones, not people": People took to streets in Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Ternopil and Chernivtsi in support of Fedorov. VIDEO+PHOTOS
Rallies in support of Mykhailo Fedorov also took place in Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Ternopil, and Chernivtsi. The participants demanded that the leadership of the Defense Ministry remain unchanged and called for maintaining the course toward the technological modernization of the army.
This is reported by Censor.NET.
On 16 July, a protest took place in Khmelnytskyi against the possible resignation of Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The event was part of the protests taking place in various cities across Ukraine that day.
According to local media reports, participants initially gathered near the ‘Dytiachyi Svit’ shopping centre, before marching in an organised procession to Independence Square. At the start of the protest, various estimates put the number of participants at over 60. The number of protesters subsequently grew – by 9.30 am, local media were reporting around 100 participants.
Protesters held homemade placards calling for Mykhailo Fedorov not to be dismissed from his post as Defence Minister and expressing their opposition to possible personnel changes in the government.
A rally in support of Ukraine’s Defence Minister also took place in the centre of Zhytomyr, according to the Telegram channel "My Zhytomyr". Dozens of local residents gathered on Korolyov Square near the building of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration to voice their views on potential personnel changes within the Ministry of Defence.
The protesters carried placards bearing slogans such as "Bring Fedorov back", "Don’t interfere with our work" and other messages in support of the head of the defence ministry. The protesters are convinced that, in the context of a full-scale war, the country needs stability in the defence sector, and that the changes already underway must be seen through to the end.
Earlier in the morning, residents gathered outside the Mykola Gogol Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre in Poltava to express their opposition to the personnel decision to replace the head of the Ministry of Defence, according to Poltavshchyna.
The people of Poltava turned up with dozens of homemade placards on pieces of cardboard. The protesters are demanding that the authorities halt what they consider to be questionable personnel changes during the war.
The slogans on the Poltava placards range from analytical to highly emotional (sometimes containing swear words): "Clowns to Kvartal! Fedorov to the Ministry!", "HOPE" and "Fedorov — our only hope", "Get rid of Syrko, not Fedorov", "Fedorov’s dismissal is a gift to Russia", "Personnel changes, don’t go there!", "You’ve pissed us off".
People are chanting slogans, complaining about the return of "Soviet-style" practices to the army and demanding that the focus on technological modernisation, which the minister embodied, be maintained.
In Ternopil, a protest against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister also took place outside the regional military administration. Nearly 100 people took part, according to local media reports.
In Chernivtsi, on 16 July, a peaceful protest took place in Central Square against the resignation of Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine’s defence minister, reports Shpalta
Participants in the event stated that they did not support the personnel changes at the Ministry of Defence and called on the authorities to explain the reasons behind the decision to change the ministry’s leadership.
Protesters held placards bearing slogans such as: "Fight with drones, not people", "The Ministry of Defence needs Fedorov", "Only the enemy thanks you for this decision", "He was a thorn in their side, so they sacked him" and others.
During the rally, slogans such as "Drones for the army, not epaulettes" and "If he’s doing the job, leave him alone" were also chanted, with participants expressing their support for Fedorov and their opposition to his dismissal.
