Zelensky dismisses Commander-in-Chief Syrsky

Army leadership

Zelensky dismisses Commander-in-Chief Syrsky

In the midst of the war with Russia, young people in Ukraine in particular are calling for army chief Syrskyj to be fired and for former Defense Minister Fedorov to return. Now Zelenskyj reacts.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired army chief Olexander Syrskyj after days of pressure from demonstrators. The new commander-in-chief will be Mykhailo Drapatyj, Zelenskyj announced on his Telegram channel.

The president initially held on to his commander-in-chief, who has been appointed since 2024, despite criticism, after dismissing the popular politician Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister last week. Fedorov, who was only 35 years old, then made his conflict with Syrskyj, who was still trained during Soviet times, public. This was largely about a dispute over the direction of warfare. Fedorov stood above all for the use of Ukrainian drones against Russian targets, which was also praised in the West.

Zelensky expressly thanked the outgoing general and praised his military merits. In view of ongoing protests against Fedorov’s dismissal, the president had been holding talks with military officials for days, as he announced on the X platform.

On Saturday, in his daily video address in view of the street protests, he said that he was listening to what people were saying. He said he also spoke for a long time with Fedorov and Syrskyj.

According to Zelensky’s spokesman Dmytro Lytwyn, another conversation with Fedorov followed on Tuesday evening. He should be given a “dignified position” in which he can continue to focus on the technical development of the company Ukraine Zelenskyj announced that he could take care of it. He didn’t give any details.

Demonstrations took place in the Ukrainian capital for six days in a row Kyiv and other cities several thousand mostly young people protested against Fedorov’s dismissal. The demonstrators demanded his reinstatement. The main demand, however, was to replace army chief Syrskyj. At the same time, there was open support for Syrskyj from military circles.

Fedorov’s post as defense minister was taken over on Friday by intelligence officer Yevhenij Khmara. However, Zelensky still has to submit Khmara’s candidacy to parliament and have it confirmed by MPs.

Ukraine has been resisting the Russian invasion for more than four years. Syrskyj has been commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces since February 2024. The one out Russia The 60-year-old professional military man made a name for himself in the defense of Kiev and the successful counter-offensive in the Kharkiv area in 2022.

Fedorov had headed the Defense Ministry since January. Before that, he was at the head of the Digitization Ministry, which was created in 2019.