Kaleniuk on protest in Kyiv: President must stop "pissing in people’s eyes" and explain real reason for Fedorov’s dismissal. PHOTOS

A protest march against the resignation of Mykhailo Fedorov as Defence Minister took place in Kyiv yesterday.

According to Censor.NET, Daria Kalenuk, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, attended the march and shared her impressions.

"There were so many of us! And our demands are very simple: the president must explain the real reason for Fedorov’s dismissal. He must stop ‘pulling the wool over our eyes’ and treating us like idiots. If there are no valid reasons, he must restore what works," she explained.

Fedorov’s resignation

On 14 July, the Verkhovna Rada backed a resolution on the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Along with her, the entire Cabinet automatically resigned.
On 15 July, Mykhailo Fedorov announced that he was stepping down as head of the Ministry of Defence.
Rallies in support of Mykhailo Fedorov took place in Dnipro, Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk, Cherkasy and other cities. Participants are protesting against his resignation.
On 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint a new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Prime Minister is Serhiy Koretskyi.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would nominate Yevhen Khmara for the post of Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Prior to this, he had instructed Khmara to act as head of the Ministry of Defence.
Protests against Fedorov’s dismissal continued in Ukrainian cities. In addition to demanding that Fedorov be reinstated as Defence Minister, people called for the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
On 21 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He appointed General Mykhailo Drapatyi to the post instead.