Kyiv protesters demand restoration of Fedorov's position, putting Zelenskyy in a dilemma
Zelenskyy faces a potentially embarrassing predicament.
Although Zelenskyy has responded to public pressure by dismissing Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Syrskyi, the demonstrations in Kyiv have not dissipated—because he has yet to meet another demand from the protesters: restoring Fedorov to his role as Defense Minister.
On the 22nd, The Guardian reported that multiple Kyiv protest participants stated they would not disband until Zelenskyy reinstates Fedorov as defense minister.
According to Ukrainian public opinion surveys, following the recent dismissal controversy, Fedorov’s popularity among the public has surged to second place (65%), trailing only former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Zaluzhnyi (70%), while Zelenskyy has dropped to fourth place (59%).
A Ukrainian military official said this situation presents Zelenskyy with a difficult dilemma: if he restores Fedorov to office, it would be seen as yielding to Fedorov, which the latter might interpret as weakness; but if Zelenskyy refuses, the protests will continue and could trigger a new political crisis.
To be fair, based on recent reports disclosed by Ukrainian and Western media, Fedorov may be aiming for more than just the position of Ukraine’s Defense Minister—he is eyeing Zelenskyy’s presidential seat.
This directly touches on Zelenskyy’s “red line.” A typical example is Zaluzhnyi, who was previously transferred to the UK as ambassador partly because his public popularity had surpassed Zelenskyy’s at the time. Western media also fueled speculation that Europe and the US might support Zaluzhnyi replacing Zelenskyy, ultimately forcing Zelenskyy to reshuffle his leadership midstream.
Therefore, even though Syrskyi has already been dismissed, this round of political turmoil in Ukraine is unlikely to subside easily—the conflict between Syrskyi and Fedorov was merely a spark, and now it’s Zelenskyy’s turn to worry.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871502822799360/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.