Zelenskyy under growing pressure to reinstate sacked defence minister

Volodymyr Zelenskyy with (from left) acting defence minister Yevhenii Khmara, Oleksandr Syrskyi and newly appointed commander-in-chief Mykhailo Drapatyi. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters View image in fullscreen Volodymyr Zelenskyy with (from left) acting defence minister Yevhenii Khmara, Oleksandr Syrskyi and newly appointed commander-in-chief Mykhailo Drapatyi. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters Zelenskyy under growing pressure to reinstate sacked defence minister Campaigners in Ukraine pledge to continue nationwide protests until Mykhailo Fedorov gets his job back Volodymyr Zelenskyy was under growing pressure to reinstate his sacked defence minister on Wednesday, after campaigners said they would continue indefinite nationwide protests until Mykhailo Fedorov got his job back. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy bowed to public demands by firing Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi . He appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new head of the country’s armed forces , as part of a radical reshuffle of the top military command. But Zelenskyy’s attempts to defuse popular anger by offering Fedorov a new government role so far appear to have failed. Fedorov has reportedly turned down the post of deputy prime minister for technological development. Instead, he wants to be reinstated as defence minister, arguing that it is the only way of implementing his ambitious plan for modernising and reforming Ukraine’s army. The post is no longer vacant after Zelenskyy appointed a special forces commander, Yevhenii Khmara, as acting minister. View image in fullscreen Mykhailo Fedorov was ousted as defence minister last week after just six months in the role. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images Protesters have called for a rally to be held on Friday evening outside Zelenskyy’s presidential office in Ivana Franka Square, Kyiv . The announcement – made by prominent veteran Dmytro Koziatynsky – suggests that Ukraine’s political crisis is likely to roll into a second week. “We should not forget about the second demand of the protest – to return Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of minister of defence,” Koziatynsky wrote on social media. He added: “We must do everything possible to ensure that the government hears and satisfies all the demands of society.” One senior army source told the Guardian that Zelenskyy faced a major dilemma. “If he reverses his decision, this would be a big victory for Fedorov. It would be humiliating for the president and reveal him to be weak. But if he doesn’t, the protests will keep going,” they said. In recent months Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces have carried out a series of long and mid-range strikes on Russian territory , as well as on occupied southern Ukraine and Crimea. Targets have included oil refineries and military depots, as well as ships and oil tankers in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. View image in fullscreen Protesters in Kyiv had called for the dismissal of Oleksandr Syrs