Ukraine’s Zelenskyy fires his commander-in-chief after protests and major rift

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his commander in chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on Tuesday, bowing to pressure after the removal of popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov sparked the fiercest leadership crisis of his presidency.

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Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that Mykhailo Drapatyi will replace Syrskyi.

Zelenskyy’s decision to fire Fedorov, one of his closest allies, led to rare wartime protests on the streets of Kyiv . Fedorov publicly aired his disagreements with Syrskyi, known as “The Butcher,” over military strategy.

Syrskyi, 60, is a more traditional military commander focused on infantry and artillery, while Fedorov, 35, is seen as a modernizer, whose focus on technological advancements in drone warfare has led to Ukraine’s recent successes in hitting Russia .

Despite the recent shake-up, Zelenskyy tried to present a unified front in his Telegram message Tuesday announcing the dismissal of Syrskyi.

“The desire in all of us is one — victory over the enemy and achieving such conditions on the front and in pressure on Russia, which would allow forcing Russia to peace,” he wrote.

Worried Ukrainians, fearing that Fedorov’s removal could wipe out those gains, took to the streets calling for him to be reinstated and Syrskyi to be forced out, instead. A senior air force commander also quit in protest.

For those in the streets, Syrskyi had become a symbol of the Soviet way of thinking rejected by Ukraine’s younger generations. Fedorov, meanwhile, represents technological innovation and a determination to outsmart the country’s more powerful invader.

Syrskyi has been nicknamed “The Butcher” for his unsparing reputation, with critics pointing to lives lost in a late withdrawal from the fortress city of Bakhmut and the disastrous retreat from Russia’s Kursk region last year that left soldiers stranded and forced to walk back for days under enemy fire.

Zelenskyy spent the weekend speaking to other top military commanders in an apparent interview process to potentially replace Syrskyi. It is unclear whether Fedorov will remain in the government and, if so, in what capacity.

“Change is inevitable,” Fedorov said Saturday on social media . “The dialogue is happening. I believe we will succeed.”

Zelenskyy did not give a reason for firing Fedorov last week. He said he was effectively left with a choice between the defense minister and Syrskyi, who was heading the armed forces. The two were no longer communicating with each other, he said.

Fedorov confirmed his spat with Syrskyi, saying Syrskyi was not willing to discuss “problems” directly and resisted reform of Ukraine’s defense apparatus.

Protests erupt in Ukraine over defense minister's ouster

While he credited Syrskyi for Ukraine’s wins in the early days of the war, “the war has changed” because of drone advancements, Fedorov argued.

“Why is this trajectory breaking now, and why are we veering off course? There is such a risk. And the Ukrainian people have taken to the streets for that,” he said at a news conference.

Ukraine’s deployment of low-cost drones has upended the battlefield and the traditional model of warfare, with Kyiv demonstrating a growing ability to hit strategic sites deep inside Russia , in addition to critical Russian-held targets within Ukraine’s territory.

At the same time, Russian troops continue to slowly advance in eastern Ukraine, while a dwindling supply of missile interceptors has left Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities vulnerable to intense bombardment.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy separately met with Fedorov and offered him what he called a respected position in government that would unify the country’s technology sector. But it was not clear whether Fedorov accepted the offer and whether the latest moves would satisfy protesters and bring peace to the streets.