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Agence France-Presse

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday sacked his Soviet-trained army chief Oleksandr Syrsky following a political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular, young and tech-savvy defence minister.
The Ukrainian leader announced he was appointing joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty in his place.
Syrsky, 60, had served in the role since 2024 and was among Kyiv’s most experienced commanders, having led the defence of Kyiv at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
His removal came after days of protests in support of ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accused Syrsky of forcing him out and stalling his attempt to reform the military.
“I have decided that the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapaty,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrsky and to each of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong frontline positions.”

Questions over Syrsky’s future came to the fore last week, when Zelensky removed highly popular defence minister Fedorov just six months after appointing him.
Fedorov, a 35-year-old whose efforts to modernise the army brought him into conflict with its leadership, accused Syrsky of blocking his ideas and pressuring Zelensky to remove him – a charge Syrsky denied.
The row exposed rare divisions within Ukraine’s military and political leadership at a time when Kyiv appeared to be in its best position in the war for months.
Ukraine’s forces have slowed Russia’s advances to a crawl in recent months, while long-range Ukrainian strikes have struck Russian oil refineries that Kyiv says fuel the invasion.
Drapaty, the army’s new commander-in-chief, is a decorated major general who previously commanded Ukraine’s ground army and fought against Moscow-backed separatists during the Donbas war.
He is famous in Ukraine for a video purporting to show him ramming an armoured vehicle through a separatist checkpoint in the city of Mariupol, during then skirmishes between pro-Russian militias and government forces in 2014.

The 43-year-old thanked Zelensky for the appointment in a post on Facebook.
“Serving Ukraine has always been an honour for me, and during the war for independence it means absolute responsibility,” he said.
“Glory to the nation. Death to the enemies,” he said.
Fedorov welcomed Drapaty’s appointment, saying it injected “new hope” into the fight against Russia.
“This is a breath of fresh air and a new hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice,” he said on social media.
Fedorov’s ousting last Wednesday prompted thousands to protest across Ukraine, many of whom expressed frustration at the lack of reforms in the military and called for Syrsky’s removal.
For a while, Zelensky – seen as mistrustful of those with political ambitions – had relented pressure to sack Syrsky, a career military man.
Analysts said that Syrsky was not a threat to Zelensky, unlike his predecessor, the ultra-popular Valery Zaluzhny, who was also removed.
But Syrsky was criticised for not caring about the scale of human losses and stalling reforms to procurement, equipment and mobilisation.
Drapaty becomes Ukraine’s third commander-in-chief since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Both Russia and Ukraine have been escalating aerial strikes in recent months, and the United Nations reported a surge in civilian deaths in Ukraine in recent months.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Ukrainian President Volodymyr and Oleksandr Syrsky, who has been sacked as army chief. Photo: AFP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Major General Mykhailo Drapaty. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

People in Kyiv protest in support of ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Photo: AFP

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People protest against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to replace Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine’s then defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a press conference in Kyiv on July 1. Photo: Reuters

People protest against Mykhailo Fedorov’s removal in Lviv on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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Smoke rises from the grain carrier Golden Leo under the Guinea-Bissau flag after Russian missile strikes in the the Black Sea close to Odesa, Ukraine on Sunday. Photo: AP

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian missile strike on a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Protesters gather to denounce President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to dismiss Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, in Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday. Photo: AP

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Kyiv, Ukraine during a Russian aerial attack on July 11. Photo: Reuters

Young people walk past the Alley of Fallen Heroes in a district of Kyiv on Sunday. Photo: AFP

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko visit the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which was hit during Russian strike in June. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

A Ukrainian drone targeting a Russian tanker in the Sea of Azov. Photo: Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force via Reuters

Smoke rises over an oil refinery in Syzran, Samara region, Russia. Photo: Reuters

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Ukraine gets a new top commander as protests over defence minister’s ouster spark the war’s biggest military shake-up


Ukraine gets a new top commander as protests over defence minister’s ouster spark the war’s biggest military shake-up.


Zelensky sacks Ukraine army chief Syrsky after days of protests

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ukraine gets a new top commander as protests over defence minister’s ouster spark the war’s biggest military shake-up

Ukraine gets a new top commander as protests over defence minister’s ouster spark the war’s biggest military shake-up