Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has removed Oleksandr Syrskyi from the post of commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces. Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed in his place.
Protests have continued for six straight days in the capital, Kyiv, later spreading to other Ukrainian cities. They began in protest at the removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and demands for the removal of army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi emerged from them.
The conflict between Mykhailo Fedorov and Oleksandr Syrskyi over the war with Russia became public in recent days, leading to the defence minister’s removal and the protests. In the face of continuous demonstrations, President Zelenskyy has now removed the army chief as well.
The situation has arisen at a time when Kyiv is passing through an important phase of the war with Moscow, with Russian forces intensifying attacks on Ukraine in recent days.
President Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Drapatyi had been appointed commander-in-chief to bring “new momentum” to the resistance against Russian forces.
In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said: “I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to every one of our fighters for holding Ukraine’s strong position. Thanks also to Mykhailo Drapatyi for the same outlook.”
The recently removed defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, is an important figure in the war with Russia. He was removed from the post last week, causing widespread anger across Ukraine.
Before being removed, Fedorov had publicly criticised Syrskyi, saying he was obstructing his reform programme and that the general needed to be removed if Ukraine wanted to halt Russian aggression.
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