Arabic version: آلاف يتظاهرون احتجاجًا على إقالة فيدوروف؛ زيلينسكي يسعى للتقارب مع بولندا
Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets for a second day to protest the sudden removal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. According to The Guardian, several thousand people gathered outside the presidential office after Fedorov was not reappointed in a surprise government reshuffle.
Fedorov, credited with successfully leveraging drone and missile technology, had clashed with the more conventional military chief of staff Oleksandr Syrskyi. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the dismissal, saying he was forced to choose between sides and that his priority was unity, a move that startled senior European officials and exposed a leadership flaw while Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in the war.
Zelenskyy also took steps to repair a rift with key ally Poland over his May decision to name a Ukrainian army unit in honour of Second World War fighters who killed Poles. He pledged to expand investigations into those killings by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and to open intelligence files; Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said Poland was “ready for a serious and friendly dialogue” on issues that unite and divide the countries.
The dispute matters because it involves Ukraine’s wartime leadership choices at a moment observers say Kyiv was making gains, and because Poland’s support is described as critical to Ukraine’s effort against Russia.
What happens next: Zelenskyy will expand investigations and open intelligence files as part of efforts to repair ties with Poland, according to the reporting.
In Russia, authorities detained blogger Ilya Remeslo on suspicion of spreading false information about the army and fined anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin for displaying “extremist symbols”, steps observers view as a warning to critics ahead of September’s parliamentary election. Separately, Russia continued attacks in the Black Sea, striking two Ukrainian port cities and killing three people. Regional prosecutors said a Russian drone attack on Mykolaiv damaged three civilian foreign-flagged vessels and killed two Ukrainians on board one; another strike killed a man in Odesa and later hit a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, injuring four crew members. Traders and analysts said the strikes have led to a partial halt in grain shipments and an almost complete suspension of grain purchases at port terminals.
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