On Saturday, July 18, 2026, during the national telethon "United News," an official statement was issued by the Office of the President of Ukraine regarding mass protests sweeping Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and several other cities. Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President, Serhiy Leshchenko, presented the department's position in response to the public reaction triggered by the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
According to Leshchenko, state institutions have registered the public's demand; however, the implementation of countermeasures is limited by the necessity of complying with legal and procedural norms. As a historical precedent, the advisor cited the events of July 2025, when a similar domestic political crisis was resolved through compromise personnel decisions by the head of state.
Bureaucratic regulations and legal restrictions
The specifics of the current administrative process, according to the Office of the President's statement, are determined by a number of factors. Firstly, the implementation of management decisions in the public sector requires strict adherence to stages regulated by law, which objectively slows down the system's reaction compared to commercial structures.
Secondly, according to the speaker, "the corresponding signal from the president in response was also given." This indicates that internal consultations to stabilize the situation have already begun. Thirdly, the actions of the executive branch are coordinated taking into account the conditions of martial law, introduced by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 64/2022 and regularly extended by the Verkhovna Rada.
Evolution of protesters' demands
Public demonstrations, which have continued for several days, were initially focused on the demand to restore Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of head of the defense department. Participants of the actions link his activities to the successful implementation of technological innovations and unmanned systems in the security sector.
However, by the end of the week, the agenda of the rallies expanded: demonstrators began to demand the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky. In the expert community and foreign specialized media, current events are viewed as a manifestation of systemic discourse between supporters of the concept of "technological war" and classic defense planning.
Appointment procedures in wartime
An additional factor in the escalation was information about the Office of the President conducting closed interviews with representatives of the high command, including the Acting Minister of Defense Yevhen Hmara, to form an updated configuration of military leadership.
According to Article 5 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the bearer of sovereignty is the people, who exercise power through state bodies. The regulation of the personnel hierarchy in the defense sector, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On National Security," is within the exclusive competence of the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada, which requires passing established parliamentary and administrative filters.
