Zelensky believes that Mykhailo Fedorov will remain in his team

The president spoke about this during a press conference with journalists, reports the broadcaster “Suspilne”.

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“I am sure he will remain on my team, and a little later we will talk about how this will look,” said V. Zelensky.

Earlier, M. Fedorov said that after the decision not to re-nominate him as defense minister, he “had a normal conversation” with the president. According to him, V. Zelensky offered him to stay on the team. M. Fedorov noted that the president offered him an advisory position, but he refused.

“He offered to become an advisor or otherwise remain on the team,” said M. Fedorov.

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.

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Appointed only six months ago, M. Fedorov earned a reputation as a modernizer. He tried to reform the Ukrainian army, weakened by more than four years of Russian invasion.

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 facilities 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 M. Fedorov’s successor 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 be doing something,” he said in his resignation statement.

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