Replaced military chief Syrskyi clashed with former Defense Minister Fedorov, whose dismissal last week sparked protests.
Posted on July 21, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Oleksandr Syrskyi as the country's commander-in-chief and appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the army. The move came after six days of protests in the capital kyiv sparked by the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had previously clashed with Syrskyi.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday's decision was made to “reset” the ongoing war effort against Russia.
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“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and each of our warriors for Ukraine's strong frontline positions,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “I thank Mykhailo Drapatyi for maintaining the same opinion.”
“Our shared desire is one: victory over the enemy and conditions on the front and pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” he added. He emphasized the need to address friction within the military leadership and resolve persistent problems related to mobilization and frontline management.
Fedorov, widely considered a critic of the war effort against Russia, was removed from office last week, sparking widespread protests across the country.
Protesters in kyiv and other major cities have called for accountability and a more effective military strategy, with many criticizing Syrskyi's handling of the war effort amid rising Ukrainian casualties.
Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the unit documented 1,396 civilian deaths and 7,978 injuries in Ukraine in the first six months of 2026.
That was a 37 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and “almost doubled what we documented in 2024,” he said.
Both Moscow and kyiv have stepped up airstrikes in recent months, mutually targeting vital infrastructure, as U.S.-led talks to end the Russian invasion remain stalled and the U.S. focus has largely shifted to its war against Iran.
Russia has frequently used ballistic missiles, while kyiv currently lacks Patriot interceptor munitions, which are crucial to defending against attacks.
In retaliation, Ukraine is intensifying its attacks on Russian territory, mainly against oil deposits. A series of Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least eight warehouse workers on Saturday and injured dozens more, while another attack sparked a fire at an oil depot outside Moscow.
