# Oleksandr Syrsky **Oleksandr Syrsky** (born July 26, 1965, in Vladimir Oblast, Russia) was Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces from **February 8, 2024** until **July 21, 2026**, when [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] dismissed him after nationwide protests. He is the vault's example of the traditional pole of the [[Ukrainian Military Doctrine Split]]: a Soviet-trained commander, effective on defense, criticized for centralization and casualties. ## The record - **Kyiv and Kharkiv, 2022.** As Ground Forces commander he directed the defense of Kyiv and the September 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive, the two operations that made his reputation. - **Bakhmut.** He led the long defense of Bakhmut. Its cost became the core of the casualty critique against him. - **Replacing Zaluzhnyi.** Zelensky put him in charge in February 2024, in place of the popular [[Valerii Zaluzhnyi]]. - **Kursk.** He launched the August 6, 2024 incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, having ordered the 80th and 82nd Air Assault Brigades into position in late June. He claimed about 1,000 km² by mid-August, and told CNN the aims were to pre-empt a Russian offensive and draw off Russian forces. The withdrawal was largely complete by March 2025. The criticism of him was about method: a top-down, Soviet-style command and a willingness to absorb losses. ## The fall His feud with Defence Minister [[Mykhailo Fedorov]], a reformer who wanted decentralized, drone-first warfare, ended with Fedorov's dismissal on July 15, 2026. The street protests that followed demanded both Fedorov's return and Syrsky's removal. On **July 21** Zelensky announced that Syrsky was out, and the decrees are dated July 22. Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov was dismissed at the same time (one source). His successor is General [[Mykhailo Drapatyi]] ("The Flying BMP"), 43, a commander formed by the post-2014 war rather than the Soviet army. On July 23 Zelensky said Syrsky and Hnatov would "remain close, help, and consult" the new command. No formal post for Syrsky has been confirmed since. ## See Also - [[Ukrainian Military Doctrine Split]] · [[Ukrainian Armed Forces Command Structure]] · [[Ukraine War Timeline]] - [[Mykhailo Fedorov]] · [[Mykhailo Drapatyi]] · [[Valerii Zaluzhnyi]] · [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] - [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]