Just as reports from the front lines in Ukraine are giving Volodymyr Zelensky some reasons to be cheerful, his government has descended into turmoil. Within a matter of days he sacked his defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, before having to fire his commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Fedorov’s dismissal was very much Zelensky’s decision. Syrskyi’s, however, appears to have been forced on the Ukrainian president, after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Ukraine to protest the departure of the defence minister. Fedorov is widely credited with masterminding the success of Ukraine’s drone strategy, which, apart from helping to even up the odds on the front lines, has wreaked havoc inside Russia and Crimea.

Using drones to target Russian energy infrastructure has led to petrol shortages, and power outages across the country. Crimea, meanwhile, is under a state of emergency thanks to a bombing campaign targeting bridges, rail lines, roads and other infrastructure.

So it’s unsurprising that so many people are angry at Zelensky’s decision to dismiss Fedorov, writes Stefan Wolff, an expert in international security at the University of Birmingham. It seemed to make very little sense to defenestrate someone whose modern approach and nimble thinking have enabled this success.

Zelensky’s choice of replacements will, however, go some way to placating the protesters, Wolff believes. The military commander brought in to replace Syrskyi, Mykhailo Drapatyi, is thought of as part of a new generation of strategists very much aligned with Fedorov’s hi-tech approach. The acting defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, is on the same page. This will be critical if Ukraine is to maintain its momentum.

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