KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces following days of mass protests in Kyiv, the country's capital, and other cities nationwide demanding his removal.
Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new army chief, according to a statement on social media. “Our shared wish is one — victory over the enemy and conditions at the front and in pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” Zelenskyy said.
It was the second major reversal Zelenskyy has made under street pressure, after protests last summer forced him to undo a law weakening Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs.
The Ukrainian leader said he made the decision to appoint the new army chief after a series of meetings with military commanders. They began shortly after protests broke out demanding the reinstatement of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, seen by demonstrators as a driver of military modernization, and the removal of Syrskyi, who they said embodied the army’s old, Soviet-style command culture.
Zelenskyy thanked Syrskyi for his achievements in Ukraine's fight against Russia and praised him for the defense of Kyiv and for operations in Kharkiv and Kursk.
“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to every one of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong front-line positions,” he said. “I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for holding that same view.”
Drapatyi wrote in a Facebook post that serving Ukraine "has always been an honor for me, and during this war for independence, it means absolute responsibility.” He thanked Syrskyi for his consistent work strengthening the Ukrainian military.
“I grew up in it,” he added, referring to the army. “I will work responsibly, with focus and with respect for the people defending our state today.”
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy separately met with Fedorov and offered him what he called a respected position in the government that would unify the country’s technology sector. It wasn't clear if Fedorov accepted the offer — or whether the latest moves would satisfy protesters and calm the streets.
Fedorov congratulated Drapatyi, calling the appointment “new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice” and “a voice for change that could not go unheard.”
Fedorov had criticized Syrskyi publicly before his dismissal, saying the general was blocking his reform efforts and needed to be replaced for Ukraine not to fail in its resistance against Russia. He said Ukrainians’ high expectations must now be met with a clear vision for ending the war, decisive action to preserve soldiers’ lives, expand robotic warfare at the front, strike asymmetrically and exhaust Russia’s economy.
Fedorov called Syrskyi to thank him for defending the Kyiv region, the Kharkiv operation and other battles, calling it “already an important part of Ukraine’s history” but adding that the country must “move even faster and write new chapters, correcting all previous mistakes.”
