A protest action against the resignation of Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov is taking place on Franko Square near the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater and near the building of the Office of the President in the center of Kyiv on Thursday.
The event has gathered about 2,000 participants. These are mainly young people, but people of all ages are present. Some participants have come with children. Half of the participants are women. Veterans are also seen at the rally.
People are dispersed across the square, and no stage has been set up. No one is speaking to the protesters, and no politicians or public figures are spotted among them.
Participants hold handmade cardboard placards with slogans: "Hands off Fedorov," "If it works – don’t break it!", "No to Klymenko’s appointment," "What for?", "Exchange prisoners, not Fedorov," "Drones are better than made beds," "Mr. President, are you really for the people?", "It’s our business because it’s our country," "Don’t wait for mercy from disaster," "Not Soviet approaches, but technological superiority," "We need reforms, not Klymenko," "Change Syrsky, not Fedorov," "They forgot to ask us," "Fedorov is the minister of victory," "Why do ministers have more rotations than the military?" and hundreds of others.
The signs are being drawn on packing cardboard on the spot; approximately every fifth participant holds such a placard. Participants are leaving the square with them, but new ones are arriving.
The rally is proceeding peacefully. Traffic is not blocked. A small number of law enforcement officers, the Dialogue Police, and military personnel from the Military Law Enforcement Service are present. They are dispersed mainly along the perimeter of the square and in the surrounding blocks, not interfering in the events. Significantly more media representatives, mainly Ukrainian, are observed.
Participants are chanting: "Fedorov!", "Bring him back!", "We see everything, we are watching," "We care," "You broke it – you fix it," and others. They also sang the national anthem of Ukraine.
The weather in Kyiv is warm and sunny. No air raid alert has been announced.
