Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he had decided to dismiss Oleksandr Syrsky as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The new commander-in-chief will be 43-year-old Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who until now served as commander of the Joint Forces of the AFU, the president said. The decrees are expected to be signed on July 22.
Zelensky thanked Syrsky for his results in the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive operation, and the operation in Russia's Kursk region. "A significant path has been traveled, the defense of Ukraine continues, and a worthy attitude toward every warrior is necessary. I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrsky and each of our warriors for strong front-line positions. I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for precisely such a vision," Zelensky said.
Mykhailo Drapatyi, unlike the 61-year-old Syrsky, trained as an officer in independent Ukraine rather than at a Soviet school or in Moscow. He has been fighting since 2014.
On Monday and Tuesday, the president discussed personnel changes with Drapatyi, Deputy Chief of the General Staff Volodymyr Horbatyuk, commander of the 3rd Army Corps Andriy Biletsky, and other senior officers. Zelensky said that together with Drapatyi, new Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara, and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa, they determined how the configuration of the General Staff should be updated.
Syrsky's dismissal was preceded by a public conflict with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whom Zelensky dismissed last week. The president explained Fedorov's dismissal by saying that his relationship with Syrsky had deteriorated to the point that they stopped communicating directly. Fedorov himself said he had sought Syrsky's dismissal, accusing him of blocking military reforms. After Fedorov's dismissal, protests demanding Syrsky's dismissal and Fedorov's return to the Defense Ministry began in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa. By Sunday, about 10,000 people had gathered in central Kyiv, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Zelensky said the goal of all decisions is "victory over the enemy and achieving such conditions at the front and in exerting pressure on Russia that would allow forcing Russia to come to peace."