In the Odesa region, city officials banned a rally in support of Fedorov

The Executive Committee of the Izmail City Council in Odesa Oblast has banned local activists from holding a rally against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov from his post as Ukraine’s Minister of Defense.

Intent learned of this from the Executive Committee’s response to a statement by activist Vyacheslav Masyukevich. 

The activist sent a statement to the city council announcing his intention to hold a rally to draw public attention to personnel changes in the Ministry of Defense and received a response denying the request.

“Certain restrictions are in place during wartime—rallies are prohibited,” city hall officials stated.

Vyacheslav Masyukevich toldIntento that the protest went ahead anyway—the activists spread out across the square, staging solo pickets, and plan to continue doing so.

“Even though mass events are being held in the city—including those attended by the mayor—we were banned from doing this. We had previously submitted a similar request to the city council when we held protests in support of NABU, and they allowed us then; clearly, they’ve learned their lesson since then.” It’s also interesting that previously, the girls submitted applications for approval and received a response within a week, but I got a reply very quickly—it’s banned,” said the activist.  

This was preceded by a picket organized by local resident Tetyana Gubanova; the activist explained that she didn’t know where in her city she could hold an organized protest, so she simply came to City Hall herself with a homemade cardboard sign in support of Fedorov. As the activist told Intent, a man approached her and said he was a city council representative for public relations—though he did not give his first or last name—and asked for permission to take a photo. He took her photo and left, and a minute later, a police patrol arrived at the scene.

They tried to explain to me that rallies are banned. I asked, “Where is the rally?” For some reason, they immediately asked for my personal information—where I live and why I was there. “The man’s personal information and details about where he serves,” she said, commenting on what had happened.

Intent reached out to Izmail Mayor Andriy Abramchenko for comment regarding the incident involving Tetiana Gubanova and received a response stating that city hall had learned about it through social media and advised contacting the police.

The Izmail City Council did not receive any requests or notifications regarding the planned protest, so the city council has no information about the circumstances of the incident. “We learned about the incident from social media,” city hall officials stated.

As for the refusal to allow the rally planned by Vyacheslav Masyukevich, the Izmail City Council referred the matter to the Izmail District Council, which in September 2023 issued a reminder announcing prohibiting rallies by order of the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration.

Human rights lawyer Vitaliy Matveev explained to Intent that the authorities can indeed restrict mass gatherings during martial law, but there is a caveat.

Under martial law, the right to peaceful assembly may be temporarily restricted. But it is important to note that it “may” be restricted, not that it is “automatically restricted.” Authorities must demonstrate why this specific event poses a threat, what specific risks exist, and why these risks cannot be mitigated through less restrictive measures. The law on martial law allows the military command, together with military administrations, to impose restrictions, particularly regarding mass gatherings. Has such an order been issued? In my opinion, the right to peaceful assembly remains a constitutional right even during martial law. Martial law in and of itself does not automatically prohibit any peaceful demonstrations. Restrictions must be proportionate, the lawyer emphasized.

The president himself noted that people had the right to take to the streets to protest the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov and that he does not condemn them.

“We are fighting for freedom and democracy. People do what they want. They wanted to take to the streets—and they were right. I understand, hear, and respond to what society is saying,” the president stated.

On the morning of July 16, residents of Odesa gathered to publicly express their position on personnel decisions that had sparked widespread public outcry. A rally in support of the dismissed Defense MinisterMykhailo Fedorov took place on Deribasovskaya Street in downtown Odesa.   

Кирило Бойко