Zelensky dismisses Ukraine's military chief
Mykhaylo Drapatyj will now lead Ukraine's armed forces. Image from Monday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Office via AP/TT
Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyj is being replaced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced in his evening speech.
The high-ranking military officer Mykhaylo Drapatyj will take over the role of leading Ukraine's armed forces.
The announcement comes after protests and demonstrations in several cities against the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov by Zelenskyj.
Fedorov has criticized Syrskyj's leadership style, which he described as old-fashioned and Soviet.
"I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyj and each of our soldiers for Ukraine's strong positions on the front line," Zelensky said in connection with the announcement.
In his first statement as military chief, Drapatyj wrote that he was grateful to his predecessor “for his consistent work on strengthening the Ukrainian army.”
He was the one that many of the protesters who have been protesting against Zelenskyy over the past week wanted to see take over from Syrskyy, and the 43-year-old Drapatyj was described by the Kyiv Independent newspaper as “one of Ukraine’s most respected generals.”
Fedorov congratulated Drapatyj on the appointment, which he described as “fresh air and new hope” for Ukraine.
“Now the high expectations of Ukrainians must be motivated by a clear vision of the end of the war of liberation, a strong command and decisive measures aimed at preserving the lives of our soldiers, robotizing the front, carrying out asymmetric attacks and exhausting the Russian economy,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
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