58-year-old Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky was appointed the new Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Before that, on February 8, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dismissed General Valerii Zaluzhny from this position.
Zelenskyy called Syrskyi "the most experienced Ukrainian commander"
Zelenskyy argued for personnel changes in the command of the Armed Forces and the appointment of Oleksandr Syrskyi to the highest military position in the country.
He has successful defence experience — he conducted the Kyiv defence operation. He also has a successful offensive experience — the Kharkiv liberation operation.
V. Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
Oleksandr Syrskyi: what is known
He was born on July 26, 1965, in Novinky of the Vladimir Region in Russia.
Oleksandr Syrskyi graduated from the Moscow Higher Military Command School in 1986. He served in the Ukrainian SSR and stayed there after the declaration of independence — he began serving in the National Guard and later in the Armed Forces.
In 1996, he graduated from the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in 2005 from the National Defense University.
In the 2000s, Syrsky commanded the 72nd mechanized brigade. He was involved in Ukraine's cooperation with NATO.
In the winter of 2015, he was one of the prominent ATO commanders during the battles for Debaltseve. He managed to get the Ukrainian group out of the city, which the Russians almost surrounded. For this operation, Syrskyi was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
Since 2016, he has headed the Joint Operational Headquarters, which coordinates the actions of the Ukrainian military in Donbas. Since 2019, he has been in charge of the Ground Forces.
The Kyiv defence and the liberation of the Kharkiv region
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, Syrskyi was responsible for the defence of Kyiv, for which he received the title "Hero of Ukraine".
He ordered military training centres to create special temporary battalions and delivered artillery systems usually used for training to the capital.
Syrskyi divided the city and its surrounding districts into sectors and appointed generals from military training centres to lead each district. IT created a transparent chain of subordination that all Ukrainian military units and security services would obey. The officers on the ground were allowed to make tactical decisions immediately, without the need to consult with the headquarters — journalists of The Washington Post described Sirsky's preparation of the defence of Kyiv.
In the fall of 2022, Syrskyi was one of the commanders of the counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast.
Oleksandr Syrskyi is one of those experienced officers who prepare for all unforeseen circumstances. Even to those scenarios that he himself considers extremely unlikely, the American newspaper The Washington Post wrote about Syrsky in 2022.
In September 2022, after the offensive in the Kharkiv region, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine named him among the creators of the victories of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — "Atlantes who hold the operation on their shoulders."
Syrskyi enjoys great respect in the army. Impresses with his purposefulness, determination and cunning. He sleeps only four and a half hours a day. The only relaxation is daily classes in the gym," BBC correspondent Jonathan Beale described the general, who interviewed him.
However, some officers with whom the BBC spoke negatively about Syrskyi as someone who does not care much about saving soldiers' lives.
Also, some officers complain that he likes to violate the vertical of power and interfere in the management of units down to the company level.
In addition, the interlocutors indicated that Syrskyi has a good relationship with the President's Office and talks about his appointment instead of Zaluzhnyi, which began in the spring of 2022.
Disputes over Bakhmut
According to reports, Oleksandr Syrskyi and Valery Zaluzhnyi had different views on what should be done with Bakhmut.
First, it was worth leaving the city earlier in the winter of 2023 and then whether it was worth attacking the town already in the summer and autumn of 2023, parallel with the counteroffensive in the south.
In 2023, Syrskyi commanded the eastern group of troops, which fought in the hottest areas of the front. The Battle of Bakhmut was his responsibility.
As the New York Times wrote, during one of the meetings in the summer of 2023, American strategists strongly advised Zaluzhnyi to focus on a breakthrough in the southern direction and not to scatter resources between the south and eastern directions. According to sources, Zaluzhnyi agreed to this.
However, the Ukrainian army continued offensive battles for Bakhmut, which Syrskyi advocated.
In an interview with the BBC, Syrskyi called the offensive battle near Bakhmut, where thousands of Ukrainian soldiers died, "a matter of principle and a matter of honour." He said the Armed Forces could surround the city captured by the Russians, but this did not happen.
The Kupiansk offensive
From the fall of 2023, the operational-strategic troops group "Khortytsia", commanded by Syrskyi, is responsible for the front section near Kupiansk and Lyman. Here, the Russians are conducting decisive offensive actions, and the Ukrainians are on the defensive.
The main goal of the Russian Federation in this direction is to push the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the eastern bank of the Oskil and Chornyi Zherebets rivers, thereby removing the danger of an offensive on the occupied Svatove and Kreminna in the Luhansk region.
In addition, the Russian army may try to capture the liberated cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in the fall of 2022 since these cities are strategically important, major railway junctions, and necessary for sustainable defence.
During half a year of attacks in this section, the Russian army made only minor advances on the section of the Kupiansk — Svatove road. At the same time, it lost a significant part of its equipment and personnel.
However, according to Syrskyi, the situation on this part of the front remains difficult.
It is connected with the fact that, in addition to the Kupiansk direction, Russia began an offensive near Siversk and Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region at the end of last year.
According to the new Armed Forces chief, all the enemy's attempts were unsuccessful.
What is known about Syrskyi's appointment as the new AFU Commander-in-Chief
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed General Valerii Zaluzhnyi from the position of AFU Commander-in-Chief. He appointed Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who led the Ground Forces, for this post.
It remains unknown who will take the position of the Ground Forces Commander instead of Syrskyi.
Before that, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhny.
According to him, the reason for the dismissal is the need to change the military cabinet and approaches and strategies in the criminal war launched by Russia against Ukraine.
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