Zelensky Fires Ukraine's Drone-Pioneering Defense Minister, Sparking Rare Street Protests

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, in a government reshuffle announced Thursday, removing one of the country's most popular and technologically ambitious officials and triggering rare street protests in several cities.

Fedorov, 35, had served as defense minister for only about six months but had become closely identified with Ukraine's rapid embrace of drone warfare. A former technology entrepreneur, he championed the mass production and battlefield use of cheap, agile drones that allowed Ukraine to strike far behind Russian lines and blunt Moscow's advantages in troops and heavy weapons. He was widely credited with helping turn the tables on Russia through relentless innovation.

His dismissal appeared to stem from internal friction rather than any battlefield failure. According to a lawmaker in Zelensky's party, Fedorov had clashed with old-school military generals resistant to his reforms, and his controversial changes to Ukraine's conscription system had generated significant pushback. Fedorov had pressed for expanded mid-range drone strikes to disrupt Russian war logistics in occupied Crimea and other regions, and he was known for aggressive moves against Russian capabilities. Earlier in the war, he successfully pressed Elon Musk to switch off Starlink internet terminals that Russian forces were attempting to use.

The firing prompted an unusual public response. On Thursday morning, protesters gathered in several Ukrainian cities to object to Fedorov's removal, an striking display in a country where wartime unity has generally muted open dissent against the government. Demonstrators praised Fedorov as a symbol of a younger, more nimble Ukraine and warned that his departure could slow the innovation that has kept the country in the fight.

Zelensky is expected to nominate Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's current interior minister and a former police general, to replace Fedorov. Klymenko is seen as a more traditional figure, and the choice was read by some analysts as a signal that Zelensky wants to smooth tensions with the military establishment even at the cost of the disruptive energy Fedorov brought to the post.

The shakeup comes at a precarious moment, with heavy fighting continuing along the front and Ukraine still dependent on Western support for weapons and funding. Officials sought to reassure allies that the country's drone strategy would continue regardless of who leads the ministry. But the protests underscored the political risk Zelensky has taken by removing a minister whose public standing, in wartime, had come to rival that of the government itself.