The upheaval in the Ukrainian leadership: The struggle over the way to defeat Russia | With Yair Navot
The dismissal of Defense Minister Fedorov, one of the prominent voices in promoting Ukrainian military technology, sparked public outrage and mass protests against Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky. Zelensky rushed to appoint an acting replacement with a profile similar to Fedorov's, in an attempt to calm the crisis without damaging the positive momentum against Russia, but was forced to fire the Commander-in-Chief. Yair Navot, an expert on Russian affairs, explains what is hidden behind the upheaval in Kyiv and where it is leading the campaign against Moscow.
Listen to «The Headline» — the daily news podcast of ynet. This time: on the political storm in the Ukrainian leadership.
«There are very interesting developments in the Ukrainian leadership. We see that even during a difficult war against Russia, there is room for internal politics. The dismissal of Defense Minister Fedorov is the climax of a struggle between power centers in Ukraine. It can be described as a triangle — at its peak stands President Volodymyr Zelensky, on one side the former Commander-in-Chief Syrsky, and on the other side the former Defense Minister Fedorov. The upheaval stemmed from the severe disagreements between the army and the Ministry of Defense. There were disagreements regarding the approach to the war. Each side represented a completely different approach. President Volodymyr Zelensky was forced to decide in this dispute,» explains Yair Navot, an expert on Russian affairs.
«Fedorov was dismissed after only about half a year in the position, and he represents the young generation of Ukrainian leadership. He is actually closer in age to Volodymyr Zelensky than to the 60-year-old Syrsky. They have a completely different background. Syrsky is closer to the traditions of the Soviet Union era. Fedorov, on the other hand, is young, a passionate supporter of innovation on the battlefield, UAVs and drones, cyber, in which Ukraine excels. A large part of this was thanks to him. One of the reasons he aroused opposition in the army leadership was his support for significant reforms — not only in the structure of the army itself, but in everything related to the fight against corruption. There were a great many people who did not like this, and it added to the tensions between him and Syrsky.
The protests that followed Fedorov's dismissal testify to something very healthy in Ukrainian society. Even after 4.5 years of a difficult war against Russia, we see that the Ukrainian public goes out to demonstrate in protest against issues and topics it perceives as problematic. Fedorov's dismissal was perceived by the public as a surrender by Volodymyr Zelensky to Syrsky's ultimatum — and this angered a great many people. One of the prominent things in these protests was that a lot of young people took to the streets and demanded that Volodymyr Zelensky cancel the dismissal.»
If you missed it: you are invited to listen to another episode of ours, on gender segregation in academia.
