Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a major political crisis as protesters rallied again on Tuesday against the ousting of the country's reformist defense minister amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
The protests sparked by the dismissal of popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who repeatedly clashed with the army's top command, are now in their fifth day – making them the longest sustained demonstrations and the most directly related to the war.
Thousands have shown up in the capital Kyiv since last week, beating makeshift cardboard signs and singing the Ukrainian national anthem.
Hundreds came again Monday, although attendance was slightly lower after a weekend of Russian attacks.
Anastasiia Starodubtseva, 25, said she and other protesters would stay "until something changes."
"You can ask everyone here – we will not leave," she said.
Zelenskyy is trying to strike a solution that satisfies all sides to avoid divisions in the face of the ongoing invasion.
For days, he has been locked in meetings with his top advisors and military hierarchy.
On the agenda, according to Ukrainian media and experts, are whether to bring back Fedorov and the fate of under-pressure commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
"The situation is undoubtedly serious ... we are seeing the list of demands grow," said Oleksandr Salizhenko, an expert within the Chesno movement.
Crowds had first gathered spontaneously on Thursday morning in support of Fedorov, a tech-savvy young minister whose efforts to modernize the armed forces often put him at odds with the military establishment.
In a subsequent scathing press conference, Fedorov said Syrsky had put an ultimatum to Zelenskyy to engineer his removal.
Fedorov in turn called for Syrsky's dismissal – and supporters rallied on social media and on the streets, increasingly chanting "Syrsky out!".
At the Kyiv protests, Starodubtseva, her face framed by a few locks of pink hair, also demanded Syrsky's dismissal, holding him responsible for the death of her husband.
"We are demanding answers and we are not getting any," she said.
Just as the protesters gathered, Syrsky published a rare and lengthy article in Ukrainian media outlet Militarnyi hitting back at the criticism.
He also denied issuing an ultimatum, saying he was focused on winning the war.
"My job is war. Strategy, the front, people. This is what I do and what I will continue to do," he said.
But pressure has built for Zelenskyy to dismiss him.
Syrsky "has become hostage to the situation," analyst Anatolii Oktysiuk said.
"The longer Zelenskyy keeps Syrsky in his position, the deeper the social and political conflict becomes."
Solomiia Bobrovska, an opposition MP sitting in the parliament's defense committee, said meetings to discuss a replacement for Syrsky were ongoing, but cautioned the situation was changing rapidly.
Zelenskyy, over the past days, has been holding meeting after meeting with his military leadership and has appealed for "unity."
"He is searching for an option that would demonstrate change in the military leadership while remaining broadly similar to Syrsky: loyal, free of political ambitions and respected by the military," political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said.
The pressure is compounded by frustration among some military figures.
"It is particularly painful to hear peremptory judgments from people who have never issued combat orders, never taken responsibility for the lives of personnel," commander Oleg Apostol said.
Even if a compromise is found over the fate of the army chief, Fedorov's future remains a thorny question.
The crisis has turned Fedorov into a rallying figure calling for reforms in the military.
"The situation on the street is starting to be unhealthy," Bobrovska, the MP, said.
"The President and Fedorov have to find a way to solve this together."
In Kyiv, Starodubtseva viewed the protest as a sign of democracy.
"This shows we care ... we are not Russia, we won't be silent," she said, before joining the crowd in chanting "we are one, single, united Ukraine."
