A society speaking out: Who is protesting against government appointments and dismissals in Ukraine – and why

For several days in a row, people in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv and other Ukrainian cities have been holding peaceful protests in response to a series of government dismissals and appointments. The protests began after Mykhailo Fedorov was dismissed as Minister of Defence, but the participants’ demands subsequently broadened – ranging from Fedorov’s reinstatement to the resignation of Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and calls for greater transparency in government appointments.

For some protesters, these decisions have prompted a broader discussion about how decisions are made at the state level in Ukraine and how strong the country’s institutions remain. Those taking part include volunteers, veterans, the wives of military personnel, members of the veteran community and people who can no longer live in their homes because of the occupation. Some link the changes in senior government positions to the prospects of deoccupying Ukrainian territories and returning home.

At the time of writing, one of the protesters’ main demands had already been met – the President dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as his successor. However, some participants continue to take to the streets, demanding Mykhailo Fedorov’s reinstatement as Minister of Defence and explanations for the government’s appointments and dismissals.

The Human Rights Centre ZMINA has been following the peaceful protests since they began in July. Read our report to learn how the protests started and developed, and what motivates Ukrainians to gather in city squares every evening.

The placard reads: “Power belongs to the people”. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

The changes began on 15 July with a Cabinet reshuffle. The previous day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, announced an overhaul of the Cabinet of Ministers and changes to the leadership of law enforcement agencies. The President proposed that Yuliia Svyrydenko, who was Prime Minister at the time, take charge of a new area of Ukraine’s engagement with one of its key international partners. On 13 July, it emerged that Svyrydenko had submitted her resignation as Prime Minister. The following day, the Verkhovna Rada approved her resignation. Members of her government then continued serving as acting ministers until a new Cabinet was appointed. On 15 July, MPs from the Servant of the People party announced after meeting with Zelenskyy that the President would offer the post of Minister of Defence to Ihor Klymenko, who had previously headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The same day, Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed that he was stepping down as Minister of Defence, a post he had taken up six months earlier, in January 2026. Peaceful protests subsequently began in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The participants’ demands included Fedorov’s reinstatement. They later expanded to include calls for Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to resign, as well as demands for transparent appointments and changes to the way decisions are made.

People at the protest. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

On 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada approved a new Cabinet of Ministers. MPs adopted Resolution No. 15415 on forming the new government and dismissing the members of the outgoing Cabinet. A total of 264 MPs voted in favour. The same day, Zelenskyy announced that he had instructed Yevhenii Khmara, then acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, to serve as acting Minister of Defence. At the time of writing, Khmara remains acting Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi has stepped down as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Mykhailo Drapatyi has succeeded him.

Sign offering water and free Wi-Fi. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

Volunteers quickly joined those attending the protests. In Kyiv, they bring water and tea to the square, provide portable power stations and have set up a free Wi-Fi hotspot. Protesters also responded with humour to allegations that they were being paid to attend the rallies: they began bringing sweets to the square and sharing them with others as symbolic “payment” for taking part. Another story emerged on the fifth day of the protests in Odesa. On their way to the rally, participants found four kittens that, according to them, had been abandoned. They brought the animals to the protest, where new homes were found for them. People subsequently joked on social media that protesters in Odesa were being “paid in kittens”.

Screenshot from Threads about the kittens found in Odesa

“July in Kyiv smells of cardboard“, people write on Threads. This year’s protests are the second major wave of demonstrations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first took place in July 2025, when the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that effectively threatened the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The protests reflected public opposition to the adoption of Draft Law No. 12414, which expanded the powers of the Office of the Prosecutor General. People took to the streets because they believed the changes would destroy the independence of NABU and SAPO. The 2026 protests were triggered by a different issue – the government’s appointments and dismissals. However, when speaking to the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, participants increasingly focus on more than particular individuals. They raise questions about how decisions are made, the role of parliament, transparency in appointments and whether state institutions can operate independently and consistently during the full-scale war. In both 2025 and 2026, cardboard placards bearing the protesters’ demands became a symbol of resistance.

Protest in support of the independence of NABU and SAPO in July 2025. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

For Maryna Bulanova, a volunteer from Kharkiv, the protest began with the decision to dismiss the Minister of Defence. She joined the demonstration the day after the reshuffle and then returned for five consecutive days, mostly in the evenings, when the largest crowds gathered in the square.

“I do not consider myself a Fedorov fan, nor do I idolise him. But he was a genuinely effective minister – probably the most effective of all those I have followed, in my subjective opinion. When he was dismissed, I felt myself sinking into this “pit of despair”“, the volunteer says.

Maryna Bulanova at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

Her mother, who also volunteers and is actively involved in civic life, remained in Kharkiv. She has also been attending the protests there with relatives and friends. For Bulanova, however, this matters for more than personal reasons. Kharkiv remains a city where the full-scale war directly affects people’s daily lives and where the volunteer community has close ties to military personnel and their families. Bulanova herself has supported the military for many years, with most of her volunteer work involving wounded service members. This is why her demands began to change after the initial protests. Her call for Fedorov’s reinstatement was soon accompanied by growing dissatisfaction with the military leadership. Gradually, another demand appeared on her cardboard placard – Syrskyi’s resignation. Bulanova points to public posts by military personnel, including service members she knows, who have also begun expressing dissatisfaction with the Commander-in-Chief’s actions. At the same time, she believes that civilians also have the right to speak out about decisions made by the military leadership, particularly when they concern the country they help defend and support.

“In recent days, I have been deeply troubled by a trend on social media towards criticising the protests with claims such as: what right do civilians have to criticise the Commander-in-Chief when only military personnel should be doing so? This really gets to me because it suggests that civilians have no right to criticise the Commander-in-Chief, while military personnel are unable to. It means that no one has the right to criticise him“, Bulanova says.

She is not the only person for whom the protest has become about more than a single appointment or dismissal. Another protester, Anastasiia, came to the demonstration with her dog, Lulu. She holds a cardboard placard reading: “Ukraine needs institutions, not exceptions. No rule by decree. Constitutional order“. For Anastasiia, the main issue is not the particular person serving as Minister of Defence. Far more important is how the state functions and who makes its decisions. She speaks at length about parliament, the government and the need for systemic change. In her view, even under martial law, decisions that determine the country’s future should not depend on one person. She believes that when elections cannot be held, other mechanisms of political representation must be found, including the possibility of forming a government of national unity.

“I do not think the point is that Fedorov was dismissed. The point is that our country needs systemic change – specifically, for the Constitution to function. I did not come here simply because Fedorov was replaced; someone else could be replaced tomorrow. I came to show my support for a functioning government“, Anastasiia explains.

Anastasiia and Lulu at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

She also sees the single-party majority in parliament as a problem, arguing that it allows decisions to be rushed through without sufficient debate. Under such a system, the protester says, the public risks being reduced to a passive observer of government appointments and dismissals.

“I would like the aim of this protest to be more than simply reinstating Fedorov or replacing Syrskyi. It should also be about ensuring that Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not make decisions unilaterally. He cannot make decisions on his own that determine my future and the future of everyone here“, she says.

For people who have lost their homes because of the Russian occupation, the government’s appointments and dismissals have another dimension. The issue is whether the state can continue waging the war in a way that preserves the prospect of eventually returning home. Leniie Umerova, an activist and former political prisoner from Crimea, was attending the protest for the second time. On the first day, she held a placard reading: “With a reshuffle sh**show like this, the only place we’ll see Crimea is on old postcards“. Behind these words lies a fear that changes in the defence sector could halt recent developments that had offered hope of reclaiming the occupied territories.

Leniie Umerova at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

Leniie’s placard on the first day of the protests. Photo courtesy of Leniie Umerova

“I believe that the steps taken in the years following that exceptionally difficult winter gave us hope that we could reclaim our occupied territories, particularly my native Crimea. Now that the entire Cabinet, and the Minister of Defence in particular, has been dismissed, I am no longer confident that this progress will continue. More frighteningly, we could even start moving backwards“, Umerova says.

When Crimea was occupied, Nataliia Domochkina was studying medicine on the peninsula. She is originally from Kherson. On 26 February 2014, Domochkina, who was still a student at the time, joined a pro-Ukrainian rally outside the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Simferopol. That day, between 5,000 and 10,000 Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians and people of other ethnic backgrounds gathered in the square outside the autonomous republic’s parliament. The rally was organised by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. Participants supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and opposed attempts by pro-Russian forces to legitimise the seizure of the peninsula.

It was the first protest Domochkina had ever attended. She was studying in Crimea at the time, but the occupation prevented her from completing her degree, even though she was only one month away from graduating. She had to leave the peninsula and later obtain her degree from another university.

“I am from Kherson, but I have many relatives in the occupied territories. That is why the liberation of Ukraine’s territories is so important to me. That is precisely why I am here“, Domochkina explains.

Nataliia Domochkina, centre, holding a placard reading: “Do not dismiss the man who will liberate my home”. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

Her work at the hospital prevented her from attending the protest on its first day. She joined the demonstration the following evening. For her, as for many others whose hopes for the future depend on returning home, changes in the defence sector directly affect Ukraine’s ability to continue the fight.

“War does not take holidays. Our military personnel often serve without leave, and even when leave is granted, it is usually very short. That is why I feel so angry about Syrskyi’s appointment: I fear that leave will become even scarcer and that the war will continue to be fought at the expense of our people. This is unacceptable today“, Domochkina says.

Iryna Siedova, an expert at the Crimean Human Rights Group, is originally from Kerch. Her decision to protest was not prompted by any single decision. According to Siedova, her frustration had been building gradually because of the lack of explanations for major appointments and dismissals, the way parliament operates and a number of incidents that, in her view, did not receive an adequate response from the state.

“I was outraged when Fedorov and the entire government were dismissed. Nothing was explained; everyone was simply told after the decisions had already been made. That was the final trigger. Until then, the frustration had simply kept building and building“, Siedova says.

Human rights advocate Iryna Siedova at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

She also mentions incidents involving the military command, the State Bureau of Investigation and other officials. In her view, the public has the right to demand explanations for decisions that affect how the state functions. In the case of the Ministry of Defence, Siedova believes it was a mistake to dismiss someone who had delivered tangible results. The Minister of Defence, she explains, should primarily be responsible for management, finances and communication with international partners, while military commanders should focus on conducting the war. For the human rights defender, it is important that the government explain strategic decisions to the public before making them.

“All decisions, particularly major strategic decisions such as a change of government, must be communicated to the public, and the reasons for dismissing the government must be explained. Everything should be discussed first and decided only afterwards, not the other way round“, Siedova says.

Another protester, Kateryna Eykhmann, Head of Communications at the Vesta Charity Fund, feeds her young daughter, Olha, while holding a cardboard placard reading: “Stop missing the mark”.

Kateryna Eykhmann with her daughter, Olha, at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

For Kateryna, the appointments and dismissals raised issues extending beyond Fedorov’s removal. She works in the veterans sector, is herself an internally displaced person and is particularly concerned about the appointment of Vitalii Kim as Minister for Veterans Affairs. In her view, someone who is neither a veteran nor a member of a veteran’s family should not head the ministry responsible for veterans policy. She also opposes proposals to bring veterans affairs and policy on internally displaced persons under a single ministry. For Eykhmann, veterans and internally displaced persons are two large groups with distinct problems and needs, each requiring a separate government policy.

“As someone who works in the veterans sector and is also an internally displaced person, I believe that bringing veterans affairs and policy on internally displaced persons under a single ministry would be deeply misguided. These are two large and entirely distinct groups with different needs. If responsibility for both is combined, we can be certain that we will never see an effective government policy for either group“, Eykhmann says.

At the same time, her personal story is closely connected to the Zaporizhzhia front. Having lost the possibility of returning home because of the occupation, Eykhmann did not believe for a long time that she would ever see her home again. According to her, the past few months have changed that.

“Over the past six months, as we began striking Russia effectively, targeting bridges and transport routes, I began to hope that returning home might be possible, even within my lifetime. If all of this now comes to an abrupt halt, I doubt we will ever again come this close to deoccupying southern Ukraine as a whole“, she says.

Two other protesters, Tetiana Kopaihorodska and Mariia Melnyk, came to the square as the wives of serving Ukrainian military personnel. Their husbands remain in the military, so they assess the appointments and dismissals not only as citizens but also through the daily experiences of military families. Kopaihorodska owns a veteran-run business. For her, it is important that the views of the military leadership and those working directly within the defence system be taken into account when selecting a new Minister of Defence. She does not insist solely on Fedorov’s reinstatement but wants the work he began to be continued.

Tetiana Kopaihorodska (left) and Mariia Melnyk (right). Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

“What matters is not the name, but the results. Minister Fedorov should be given the opportunity to complete the reforms he began. If that does not happen, the post should go to someone who clearly understands how to implement his vision and continue on the same course. Our husbands shield us from certain information, but when you can tell from their voices, their tone and the look in their eyes that something is wrong, you at least want to show your support – to show that you are here, standing with everyone else, with or without a cardboard placard“, Kopaihorodska says.

She also believes that protests offer the public a way to communicate with the authorities without violence or destruction. People gather in public squares to see one another and realise that their concerns are shared by others.

“This protest is about issues that have caused people a great deal of pain. It is also a constructive way to communicate. It allows us to see that we are not alone and that many others share our views. Instead of retreating into our own problems and fears, we bring them here to encourage the authorities to communicate with us as well“, she says.

Mariia Melnyk was attending the protest for the second time. Her husband has been serving in the military for two years. Over the past six months, she had noticed a cautious sense of hope in him and a growing belief that the situation could change. This is why the news of Fedorov’s dismissal was so difficult for the family.

“My main reason for coming here was to support my husband, because he has already spent two years in the military. Over the past six months, I noticed that he had begun to feel some hope and believe that things could improve because he could see the results. When he learnt of Fedorov’s dismissal, we had a very difficult conversation, and I could hear that he was close to tears“, Melnyk says.

Her own demand remains specific – the reinstatement of Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defence. For her, the issue is not only the political decision itself but also how it has affected military personnel who can see the results of the Ministry of Defence’s work.

People at the protest in Kyiv. Photo credit: Oleksandra Yefymenko

In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and other cities, people are calling for systemic change. They are raising questions about how parliament operates, transparency in government appointments and dismissals, the role of civil society and the treatment of military personnel and veterans. For those who have lost their homes because of the Russian occupation, the protests are also about whether the state will retain a strategy that could enable them to return home one day. People holding cardboard placards in cities across Ukraine represent a society speaking out when it believes that its voice must be heard. The protesters decided to begin an open-ended protest on 24 July and continue until their demand for Mykhailo Fedorov’s reinstatement as Minister of Defence is met.