Ukraine recaptured 700sq km of territory in 2026, outgoing top general says

• Ukraine recaptured 700 sq km of territory in 2026, with Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirming his departure after leading key military operations.
• Mykhailo Drapatyi, a young major general, will replace Syrskyi following protests and a government reshuffle exposing divisions in Ukraine's defence leadership.
• Syrskyi was praised for halting a Russian offensive and conducting operations in Kursk, but criticised for a rigid command style causing high troop losses.

KYIV - Ukraine has recaptured 700sq km of its territory in 2026, outgoing Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on July 22, confirming he was leaving the top military job.

“I am handing over to my successor an army that is not only holding the defence but is also on the offensive,” Syrskyi said in a statement on Telegram.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 21 that a young major-general, Mykhailo Drapatyi, would replace Syrskyi after days of street protests.

The move followed the ousting in a wider government reshuffle last week of tech-savvy reformist defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which brought out into the open the deep divisions in the Ukrainian defence leadership.

Syrskyi has held the commander in chief position since early 2024, after playing key roles in Kyiv’s defence in the early days of the war and in a lightning counteroffensive to retake swathes of the north-eastern Kharkiv region in 2022.

But he has faced harsh criticism for a rigid command style which some service members have said resulted in unjustifiably high troop losses.

In his statement he highlighted his track record, including stopping a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, and an operation in Russia’s Kursk region in 2024. REUTERS