Zelenskyy dismisses army chief Syrskyi amid street protests and defence ministry reshuffle

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that Oleksandr Syrskyi has been relieved of his duties as commander-in-chief and will be replaced by Mykhailo Drapatyi. The decision follows last week’s dismissal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which triggered demonstrations in Kyiv demanding Fedorov’s reinstatement and Syrskyi’s removal.

Syrskyi, a 60-year-old officer known for a conventional infantry and artillery focus, had clashed publicly with the 35-year-old Fedorov, who advocates modern drone-based tactics. Fedorov said the two were no longer communicating and that reforms to Ukraine’s defence structure were being blocked.

In his Telegram post, Zelenskyy wrote, "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 added that the change was intended to preserve Ukraine’s recent gains on the battlefield.

The reshuffle comes as Ukraine continues to rely on low-cost drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, while Russian forces maintain incremental advances in the east and Ukraine faces a shortage of missile interceptors. A senior air-force commander resigned in protest, and Zelenskyy met separately with Fedorov, offering him a senior role in the government’s technology sector, though the acceptance of that offer remains unclear.