Ukraine’s Zelensky sacks army chief Syrsky

• Ukrainian President Zelensky dismissed army chief Oleksandr Syrsky amid a political crisis following the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
• Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
• Fedorov accused Syrsky of blocking military reforms and forcing his removal, a claim Syrsky denied, highlighting tensions within Ukraine's military leadership.

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 21 that he was dismissing Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s army, amid an ongoing political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular defence minister.

The Ukrainian leader announced he was appointing joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty in his place.

Syrsky, 60, had served in the role since 2024 and was among Kyiv’s most experienced commanders, having led the defence of Kyiv at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

His removal comes after days of protests in support of ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accused Syrsky of forcing him out and stalling his attempt to reform the military.

“I have decided that the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapaty,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrsky and to each of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong front-line positions.”

Questions over Syrsky’s future came to the fore last week, when Zelensky removed highly-popular defence minister Fedorov just six months after appointing him.

Fedorov, a tech-savvy 35-year-old whose efforts to modernise the army brought him into conflict with its leadership, accused Syrsky of blocking his ideas and pressuring Zelensky to remove him – a charge Syrsky denied.

Ukrainian media had long reported ructions between the two. AFP