SerpApi.Org
Thousands poured into Kyiv’s central square after Volodymyr Zelensky fired his immensely popular defence minister.
The flag-waving masses gathered in protest against the president’s sacrifice of Mykhailo Fedorov to quash an internal row with Oleksandr Syrskyi, the country’s top general.
Demonstrations have played a pivotal role in the country’s post-Soviet transformation and Mr Zelensky would not be its first leader to bow to pressure from the street.
But the unrest left the president in an invidious position which could weaken his authority either way: backtrack, or ignore his voters.
In the end, he tried to do both.
Mr Fedorov, a 35-year-old, tech-savvy upstart, had championed the move away from traditional military strategies towards one focused more on robotics and drones than humans.
General Syrskyi, a Soviet-trained soldier who oversaw the defence of Kyiv in the early days of the war, was more resistant to change.
At first, the protesters called for the 35-year-old to be reinstated, but when that appeared unlikely, they flipped to demand the general’s resignation.
Mr Zelensky attempted to show some leg to quell the dissent – which was not calling for the president’s head, but could have become destabilising towards his ultimate goal of a peace deal if it was allowed to continue for much longer.
Mr Fedorov was offered his old job back, which he ultimately rejected because Gen Syrskyi was not headed for the exit.
When this failed, new roles on Ukraine’s national security council were proposed. This offer was also spurned.
Another strategy was to hold what could be seen as public interviews for Gen Syrskyi’s job at the top of the military.
Mr Zelensky openly shared information from calls with a number of commanding officers, asking them each for front-line assessments.
On the fifth day of protests with no sign of abating, there still had not been a signal change at the top since Mr Fedorov’s ousting.
Such demonstrations have been rare since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
But when Ukraine’s people take to the streets, it is seen as a fight for their country’s soul and its future direction as a Western democracy.
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Last year, Mr Zelensky also gave in to popular will, backtracking on a decision to remove the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies.
At the time, the Ukrainian president had a fall guy – Andriy Yermak, his all-powerful, former chief of staff.
His old friend was eventually dismissed and that left Mr Zelensky in a stronger position, until the feud between Mr Fedorov and Gen Syrskyi erupted.
Initially, it didn’t seem like anyone other than the Ukrainian president would be able to fall on their sword to resolve the row between two proud men.
So after almost a week of agonising thought, Mr Zelensky decided to take it into his own hands, sided with the protesters and sacked his top general.
Yes, it will be seen as a popular change, especially among serving military staff, who have repeatedly accused Gen Syrskyi of taking decisions that put their lives at risk for little reward on the battlefield.
But most likely it will buy the Ukrainian president more time as he tries to engineer and find a route to the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin to end the war.
If he hadn’t recognised what the Ukrainian public believed to be a mistake and corrected course, his position would have eventually become untenable.
Ukrainians are also forgiving, they will understand that Mr Zelensky has listened to them, and offer him a reprieve, by supporting him, at least until his next mistake.
