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“I was supposed to repair GRS, but I have to be here.” Ukrainians tell Babel why they came to the rally against Fedorov’s resignation and what result they expect — a photo report

Author:: Oleksandr Bulin
Editor:: Kateryna Kobernyk

Date:: 2:21 PM EEST, July 16, 2026

“I was supposed to repair GRS, but I have to be here.” Ukrainians tell Babel why they came to the rally against Fedorov’s resignation and what result they expect — a photo report — Діма Вага / «Бабель»

On Sunday, July 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky suddenly reported that Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the Cabinet of Ministers were resigning. On July 15, her resignation was supported by the Verkhovna Rada, and in the evening it became known that the new government would not include Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov: this was first reported in Telegram channels, and then Fedorov himself officially announced it. One of the possible candidates for his place is Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. At nine in the morning on July 16, several thousand people took to the streets in Kyiv to protest, chanting “Fedorov” and opposing the president’s personnel policy. As a year ago, when they protested against the elimination of the independence of SAPO and NABU, the epicenter of the rally was Ivan Franko Square, one of the closest accessible locations near the President’s Office. Rallies are also being held in other major cities in Ukraine. Like a year ago, slogans are written on cardboard from under machinery and postal parcels. Like a year ago, most of the protesters are young people, although there are people of completely different ages on the square. There are also military personnel here. Babel correspondent Oleksandr Bulin, photographers Anastasia Lysitsa and Dmytro Vaha went to Franko Square in the morning and talked with the protesters about why they came to the square and what outcome of the protests would satisfy them.

Tatyana (43), self-employed person. On a large piece of cardboard it says: “Ukraine for Fedorov. Only Moscow against. Syrsky — go away.”

This is my first time at the protests. I came to support Fedorov. During these unfortunate six months, he did quite a lot, he was fired unfairly. For example, Fedorov made the Russians turn off Starlink. This saved many lives and gave our guys a big advantage in logistics.

What outraged me the most was that despite the peopleʼs opinion, despite the fact that everyone had seen a bunch of posts on the Internet, he was still released. We didnʼt come to ask. We came to demand. This is our right, because the people are the only source of power in our country.

Anna (25) is studying cybersecurity. The card reads: "Bring Fedorov back", and the cat from the meme “Angry AF”

A year ago I already came to protests for NABU and SAPO, and today I came here so that military reform continues and the Minister of Defense is returned, who finally did something and noticed the drones. I came so that more of our boys come home alive.

What angered me most was that they finally found an effective manager who can properly communicate with the public, including volunteers, a minister who listened to the military and understands the importance of drones, but as soon as he started implementing reforms and cutting corruption risks, he was immediately removed. Just like during the protests last year, I expect that we will be heard and we will be able to return Fedorov to the post of Minister of Defense.

P.S. translator: meme with a cat “angry as fuck” — in original, on a picture of this cat there is a text “ЪУЪ”, which means silentish angry interjection.

Serhiy (35), “the work is related to the defense of the Motherland”. A small quadcopter is attached to a cardboard box, on one side it says: “Minister of Innovation Fedorov”, on the other — “Efficiency or Loyalty.”

We can say that starting with this drone [attached to a cardboard box], Minister Fedorov promoted transparent drone procurement through tenders in order to be closer to the military, which has a real urgent need for UAVs that deliver results on the battlefield.

In Fedorovʼs very short time in office, real changes were noticeable on the battlefield, but they and the innovations that the minister brought were ignored. Seven months later, he was simply removed from office. I was outraged that this was another abrupt decision without communication with the public, without explanation.

At the protest, I want to at least show disagreement with this decision. Ideally, I would like Fedorov to remain the Minister of Defense, where he works effectively. A year ago, I was already at a rally against the elimination of the independence of NABU and SAPO. We as a society succeeded in this, such rallies have weight, and we need to go out and speak about our position.

Pensioner Halyna (64), with her daughter Iryna (34), who works in HR. The card reads: "All power to the polygraph, and Mykhailo Fedorov to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

I [Iryna] came because I do not believe that this is the right decision of our state and the president. The appointment of Fedorov was the best decision for the Ministry of Defense. And what outraged me most was that in a crisis we are changing an effective person when we saw the first results of his work. My desire is for Fedorov to be returned to the position of Minister of Defense.

A year ago, Iryna was not at the protests for NABU and SAPO because she was not in Kyiv. However, her mother says that in 2014 they both went to Maidan.

Pavlo (32) repairs and upgrades ground robotic systems (GRSs). The card reads: "I was supposed to be repairing GRC right now, but I have to be here."

This is not my first protest, I have been protesting since 2013. There was Maidan, then they collected food for the front in ATO, then the full-scale [invasion]. I have been following these protests for 13 years. Children are born, people die, and we never get out of the protests in this country. But if we have to, then we do it. However, we will stand [here].

I came here because now some unknown political pursuit is taking place in the state for incomprehensible reasons — the pursuit of some incomprehensible elections. I think that it is important for us to win this war first, and only then to engage in politics and elections. And

Fedorov has shown himself to be a very effective minister over the past six months. We see his influence on the Ministry of Defense and on the front. We cannot ignore this and we cannot allow politics and the fight against Syrsky in government offices to prevail over the realities of todayʼs war.

What outraged me the most was that the head of the most important body in this country today is being removed for the sake of political ambitions. In my opinion, the only reason why Fedorov is being removed from office now and the reforms are being stopped is that he may have political influence and will have it in the future.

Syrsky is much more comfortable in his position now — he has no political weight, it is more convenient to leave him now, despite all the scandals that have been going on since 2022, despite the current scandal with "Skelya". People are going on the offensive, and drones should be going on the offensive and winning and saving peopleʼs lives.

There are few expectations from the protests, but there is still some hope that the authorities will listen, as they did last year with NABU. Fedorov will be left in office, and the Ministry of Defense will remain as productive and effective as it has been for the past six months.

Natalya Mironova has been a lawyer since 1990. She lives on the corner of Franka Square and Bohdana Stupka Street — her windows overlook the square. On the 5-floor balcony, she hung a cardboard sign with the inscription: “Fedorov is needed to be returned.”

Seeing Natalya on the balcony, the Babel team tries to attract her attention, and eventually succeeds. Shouting slogans over the crowd and communicating with gestures, we explain that we want to take a photo of the square from above, and she invites us to her home. Finding Natalya’s apartment is not easy. Firstly, we need someone to open the gate to the courtyard, then find the right entrance and go up to the fifth floor. Eventually, she opens the door for Babel and the hromadske correspondent, and later other journalists join us.

I have been a lawyer for 35 years and have known Ukraine and the entire law enforcement system for a very, very long time. I also know how someone "stepped on the wing" here.

I supported Zelensky. He is the best president among all those who have been in Ukraine. But Fedorovʼs resignation is a mistake. Itʼs a gross mistake. How can you remove him when he is the future? The future is for the young. This is a mistake, and he [Zelensky] should simply correct it. We need to do it properly, the way the people want. He must listen.

Kuchma was right: “Ukraine is not Russia”, and we need to listen [to the authorities]. Ukrainians are not those who can simply be broken. I don’t know what will happen next. Maybe Fedorov will be the next president, if he has such support. Zelensky should help the young. He talked about the elevator [the social one, into power], so let him do it. And so far, the elevator is incomprehensible to us. The president should be able to correct his mistakes.

There is nothing terrible in that.

Dmytro, Yevhen, Yan. All of them are 18 years old, classmates from Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, majoring in aviation and rocket and space technology. All three are at the protests for the first time. Their cards say: “Don’t Drag Down Rusoriz” and “Moscow is Burning for Fedorov.”

Dmytro

I came here to defend our right to a bright future, because my future depends very much on the Minister of Defense. I am studying to be a designer, and it is very closely related [to defense].

What angered me the most was that they were changing effective managers who were doing their job very efficiently and quickly. And this change could have catastrophic consequences. For the first time in a very long time, we started to win in a sense, and the Russians started to whine that they were very bad.

This has not happened for a very long time, and in my opinion, changing the person who is in charge of this is a crime.

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Yevhen

Today I came here to defend my position — my bright future. I donʼt understand why, when the situation has started to improve, it is necessary to change ministers? Why?

Yan

My future depends on defense. They are dismissing, probably, the best minister in the entire history of Ukraine. And this is exactly when he was there for only six or seven months and during this time he managed to do an extraordinary amount, he introduced a lot of new things.

He carried out reforms, but there is still a lot he has not done, he cannot be dismissed now.

Roman (27), a teacher. The inscription on the cardboard: "Less of Skelya, More of Drones"

I protested a year ago for NABU, against the new Civil Code, and was at other protests. And today I came because of a unilateral spontaneous decision to change the government, which was announced on Sunday and simply presented as a fact.

There was no appropriate communication. They did not explain what was wrong with Fedorov, why he needed to be replaced. And in general, I do not agree with this initiative to change the government.

Now Ukraine is showing itself better on the battlefield than in the past few years. The new candidacy [for the position of Minister of Defense] feels like a rollback from the modern to the Soviet army.

And the current scandal with "Skelya" is an indicator of this hazing and the Soviet army. I hope for a reaction from the authorities and a halt to the decision, it [Fedorov] can still be reversed. If not, then we will go out again.