Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has removed his Soviet-trained army chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, as a political crisis deepened over the dismissal of a popular, young and tech-savvy defence minister.
Mr Zelensky named joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty as his replacement.
Mr Syrsky, 60, had held the post since 2024 and ranked among Kyiv’s most seasoned commanders. He led the defence of the capital when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
His dismissal followed days of demonstrations backing ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who said Mr Syrsky had pushed him from office and obstructed his efforts to overhaul the military.
“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrsky and to each of our warriors for securing Ukraine’s strong positions along the frontline.”
Oleksandr Syrsky
Speculation about Mr Syrsky’s position intensified last week after Mr Zelensky dismissed the highly popular Mr Fedorov, just six months after appointing him defence minister.
Mr Fedorov, 35, had clashed with the military leadership while trying to modernise the armed forces. He accused Mr Syrsky of thwarting his proposals and pressing Mr Zelensky to dismiss him — allegations Syrsky denied.
The dispute laid bare unusual fractures within Ukraine’s political and military leadership just as Kyiv appeared to be enjoying its strongest battlefield position in months.
Ukrainian troops have reduced Russia’s recent advances to a crawl, while Kyiv’s long-range attacks have hit Russian oil refineries that it says help sustain the invasion.
Fresh hope
Mr Drapaty, Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief, is a decorated major general who previously led the country’s ground army and fought Moscow-backed separatists during the Donbas war.
He became widely known in Ukraine after a video appeared to show him driving an armoured vehicle through a separatist checkpoint in Mariupol during clashes between pro-Russian militias and government forces in 2014.
The 43-year-old expressed gratitude to Mr Zelensky for the appointment in a Facebook post.
“Serving Ukraine has always been an honour for me, and during the war for independence it carries absolute responsibility,” he said.
“Glory to the nation. Death to the enemies,” he added.
Mr Fedorov also welcomed Mr Drapaty’s promotion, saying the decision brought “new hope” to Ukraine’s campaign against Russia.
“This is a breath of fresh air and a renewed hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice,” he wrote on social media.
Mr Fedorov’s dismissal last Wednesday drew thousands of protesters onto streets across Ukraine. Many voiced anger over the slow pace of military reform and demanded Mr Syrsky’s removal.
For a time, Mr Zelensky — who is seen as wary of figures with political ambitions — resisted mounting calls to dismiss Mr Syrsky, a lifelong military officer.
Analysts told AFP that Mr Syrsky posed no political threat to Mr Zelensky, in contrast with his predecessor, the immensely popular Valery Zaluzhny, who was also removed from command.
Critics nevertheless accused Mr Syrsky of showing too little concern for the scale of battlefield losses and of delaying changes to procurement, equipment and mobilisation.
Mr Drapaty is now Ukraine’s third commander-in-chief since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
Russia and Ukraine have both stepped up aerial attacks in recent months, while the United Nations has documented a corresponding rise in civilian deaths across Ukraine.
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