Bitter row splits Ukraine's military leadership after defence minister ousted

FRANCE24 July 17, 2026
Bitter row splits Ukraine's military leadership after defence minister ousted
Bitter row splits Ukraine's military leadership after defence minister ousted
Ukraine's ousted defence minister directed stunning public criticism at the army's top commander on Thursday, forcing President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for unity amid signs of an emerging split in the military's top ranks. Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities against the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had been brought in six months ago to digitise and modernise an army fatigued after four years fighting off the Russian invasion. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports.

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Bitter row splits Ukraine's military leadership after defence minister ousted
Bitter row splits Ukraine's military leadership after defence minister ousted

Ukraine's ousted defence minister directed stunning public criticism at the army's top commander on Thursday, forcing President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for unity amid signs of an emerging split in the military's top ranks. Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities against the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had been brought in six months ago to digitise and modernise an army fatigued after four years fighting off the Russian invasion. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports.

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