ZELENSKYY SACKS ARMY CHIEF AMID MILITARY LEADERSHIP CRISIS
Read Time:2 Minute, 7 Second
Agency Report
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the country’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and appointed Joint Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi as his replacement, following a political crisis that exposed divisions within Ukraine’s military leadership.
Zelenskyy announced the appointment on Tuesday in a post on Telegram, thanking Syrskyi for his service and contributions to Ukraine’s defence.
“I have decided that the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapatyi. I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to each of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong frontline positions,” the president said.
Syrskyi, 60, had served as army chief since 2024 and was regarded as one of Ukraine’s most experienced military commanders. He played a key role in the defence of Kyiv during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
His removal followed days of political tension sparked by the dismissal of former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accused Syrskyi of obstructing military reforms and influencing his removal from office. Syrskyi denied the allegations.
The dispute highlighted rare disagreements within Ukraine’s military and political establishment at a time when the country’s forces have slowed Russia’s battlefield advances and intensified long-range strikes on strategic targets inside Russia.
Drapatyi, 43, is a decorated major general who previously commanded Ukraine’s ground forces and fought against Russia-backed separatists during the conflict in the Donbas region.
He is widely known in Ukraine for a video that purportedly showed him driving an armoured vehicle through a separatist checkpoint in Mariupol during clashes in 2014.
Reacting to his appointment, Drapatyi thanked Zelenskyy and pledged to continue defending Ukraine.
“Serving Ukraine has always been an honour for me, and during the war for independence it means absolute responsibility,” he wrote on Facebook.
Former Defence Minister Fedorov welcomed the appointment, describing it as “a breath of fresh air” and expressing hope that it would accelerate reforms within the armed forces.
Fedorov’s dismissal last week triggered protests across Ukraine, with demonstrators demanding greater military reforms and calling for changes in the army’s leadership.
Analysts say Syrskyi, unlike his predecessor Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was not viewed as a political rival to Zelenskyy but had faced criticism over battlefield casualties and the pace of reforms in procurement, mobilisation and military logistics.
Drapatyi becomes Ukraine’s third commander-in-chief since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The leadership change comes as both Ukraine and Russia continue to intensify aerial attacks, with the United Nations recently reporting a rise in civilian casualties resulting from the ongoing conflict.
AFP
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0