Zelenskyy replaces Ukraine military chief after Kyiv protests
Oleksandr Syrskii was removed after a dispute over defense reforms and six days of protests tied to the firing of Mykhailo Fedorov.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has removed Oleksandr Syrskii as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the military, Al Jazeera reported. The decision matters because it comes during Russia’s invasion and follows days of protests in Kyiv over an earlier shake-up at the Defense Ministry.
Al Jazeera reported that Syrskii’s removal followed six days of demonstrations in the capital after Zelenskyy dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov, described by Al Jazeera as widely seen as important to Ukraine’s war effort, had clashed with Syrskii and accused him of blocking reform plans before he lost his post.
Zelenskyy calls for a reset
Zelenskyy said in a social media statement that he was thankful to Syrskii and Ukrainian troops for maintaining strong positions at the front, according to Al Jazeera. He also thanked Drapatyi and said Ukraine’s goal remained “victory over the enemy” and pressure on Russia that would push Moscow toward peace.
Al Jazeera reported that Zelenskyy said the change was meant to “reset” Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces. The president also pointed to the need to reduce friction inside the military leadership and address continuing problems with mobilization and front-line management.
Syrskii’s wartime record
Syrskii, 60, was born in Soviet Russia in July 1965 and studied at a Red Army academy in Moscow, according to Al Jazeera. He was sent to Ukraine in the 1980s, when it was part of the Soviet Union, and later stayed there after independence.
Al Jazeera reported that Syrskii studied at the National Defence University of Ukraine in Kyiv and joined Ukraine’s newly independent army. In 2014, he commanded Ukrainian forces fighting a Moscow-backed armed rebellion in the Donetsk region.
In 2019, Syrskii became head of Ukraine’s land forces, Al Jazeera reported. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, he helped lead Ukraine’s defense and was named a Hero of Ukraine, the country’s highest honor, for the defense of Kyiv in the early months of the war.
Al Jazeera reported that Syrskii was credited with planning Ukraine’s counteroffensive around Kharkiv from July to September 2022. That operation led to the recapture of Kupiansk and Izyum, which Al Jazeera described as strategically significant cities.
Other shake-ups in Ukraine and Russia
Al Jazeera reported that more than 10 Ukrainian generals have been removed from posts during the war. Among the major leadership changes it listed were Zelenskyy’s September 2023 dismissal of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov amid corruption allegations and his February 2024 removal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi as commander-in-chief, after which Syrskii took the job.
In June 2024, Zelenskyy named Andrii Hnatov as commander of the Joint Forces Command, replacing Yuriy Sodol, according to Al Jazeera. The report also said Russia has reshuffled senior commanders during the war, which began in February 2022.
Al Jazeera reported that Russia fired Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, in August 2022 after first suspending him following the sinking of the fleet’s flagship Moskva that April. In July 2023, Moscow dismissed Major-General Ivan Popov, commander of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army in southern Ukraine, after he raised concerns about troops fighting without rest and criticized Russian battlefield strategy.
Russia also removed Sergey Surovikin from command of its Aerospace Forces in August 2023, according to Al Jazeera. Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon,” had been linked to the Wagner mercenary group and was dismissed two months after Wagner’s brief mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.