M. Fedorov said this while speaking about the discord between the two of them, which reportedly led to his dismissal. The latter decision sparked protests in Ukraine.
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“Instead of figuring out how to asymmetrically defeat Russia – which is the task of the commander-in-chief – he came up with how to divide the country we all live in today,” M. Fedorov told journalists at a press conference in Kyiv.
On Thursday morning, large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities over the dismissal of the popular defense minister.
AFP journalists in Kyiv saw hundreds of people gathered in the central square, singing the anthem, waving Ukrainian and European Union (EU) flags, and chanting “Shame!” and “Bring back Fedorov!”.
Local media reported protests in several other cities, including Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro.
Appointed only six months ago, M. Fedorov earned a reputation as a modernizer. He tried to reform the Ukrainian army, worn down by more than four years of Russian invasion.
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His dismissal threatens to bring uncertainty to the army at a time when Ukraine’s positions in the war are among the best in recent months – the country has managed to halt the pace of the Russian offensive and strike Russian oil and military targets with long-range drones.
On Wednesday evening, M. Fedorov announced his resignation, stating that it was “a great honor to serve the people of Ukraine.”
V. Zelensky has not yet appointed a successor to M. Fedorov after numerous changes, during which the prime minister was also dismissed.
Deputy head of the Ukrainian Air Force Pavlo Yelizarov also resigned in protest against M. Fedorov’s dismissal.
“It is a great honor for me to work with Mykhailo Fedorov. In 2022, I joined the defense forces to win, not to pretend to do something,” he said in his resignation statement.
