One of the organizers of the rallies supporting Mykhailo Fedorov’s return to the position of defense minister, Dmytro Koziatynskyi, thanked everyone who joined the protests, said he considered them effective, and announced their end. This was reported by UNN.
Details
In his opinion, one of the main results of the protests was the dismissal of Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the appointment of Mykhailo Drapatyi to the position.
It is unfortunate that we have still failed to establish a dialogue between the authorities and society. I hope that this issue will be resolved in time because, in my opinion, the lack of communication was the root cause of these protests. As I have said repeatedly, for me these protests were about dialogue and reforms, not individuals. Therefore, I want to wish Mr. Khmara success in his new position and sincerely hope that he will continue the course toward reforms and combating corruption in the defense sector
He added that he had a negative attitude toward elections during wartime and was "deeply concerned about the societal division during the electoral process and how it could affect the course of the war."
Context
On July 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had decided to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov from the position of defense minister. Former acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine Yevhen Khmara was appointed as acting head in his place.
Subsequently, protests took place in many Ukrainian cities over Fedorov’s dismissal. The activists demanded not only that he be returned to the Ministry of Defense, but also that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine be replaced.
On August 19 the Verkhovna Rada supported the appointment of Yevhen Khmara as Minister of Defense of Ukraine.