MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Protests over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov spread to at least 16 Ukrainian cities on Monday, according to TASS calculations.

Earlier reports said demonstrations had taken place in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lutsk, Lvov, Nikolayev, Odessa, Ternopol, Sumy, Kharkov, Chernigov, and the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye. According to the latest information, protests also took place in Izmail, Uzhgorod, Cherkassy, and Chernovtsy. Demonstrators have now been protesting for a fifth consecutive day.

Fyodorov was removed as defense minister on July 14, in part because of a conflict with Ukraine's military chief Alexander Syrsky. Protests against his dismissal began in Ukrainian cities on July 16. Demonstrators have gradually expanded their demands from reinstating Fyodorov to calling for Syrsky's dismissal as well.