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Zelensky reshuffles command
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday that Ihor Skybiuk would become the new Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of a reshuffle of the military hierarchy.
“Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday that Ihor Skybiuk would become the new Chief of the General Staff”
Zelenskyy said on the U.S. social network X that he had, with the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi and the interim Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara, chosen Skybiuk to occupy the post.
Zelenskyy also said that decisions related to these changes would be formalized later in the day by a decree currently being prepared, and he added that it was important that all components of Ukraine’s armed forces continue to operate in “perfect coordination.”
In a Tuesday evening address, Zelenskyy said that “it is a fact that Oleksandr Syrskyi has delivered results for Ukraine in the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive, and the Kursk operation,” and Syrskyi later confirmed his departure from the head of the armed forces in a message posted earlier Wednesday on Telegram.
Syrskyi said he was handing over an army that “is also capable of offensive action, with initiative, a structure and men who know how to defeat the enemy,” and he stated that since the beginning of the year Ukrainian forces had regained control of 743 square kilometers of territory.
Protests, Drapatyi, and disputes
The Associated Press reported that Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi was named to the post Tuesday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi following days of mass protests in Kyiv and other cities.
AP said demonstrators demanded Syrskyi’s removal and the reinstatement of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who protesters viewed as a driver of military modernization, and it quoted Drapatyi thanking Syrskyi in a Facebook post with “I will work responsibly, with focus and with respect for the people defending our state today.”
Euronews said Zelenskyy dismissed four-star General Oleksandr Syrskyi and appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi as commander-in-chief, and it described the move as coming under pressure from civil society and widespread protests across Ukraine.
Euronews quoted Zelenskyy praising Syrskyi for “ensured Ukraine’s success in the defence of Kyiv, in the Kharkiv offensive and in the Kursk operation,” while Syrskyi, in a Facebook post, vowed to continue serving Ukraine and said he was handing over an army “on the offensive — with the initiative, the structure and the people who know how to defeat the enemy.”
NPR reported that Zelenskyy bowed to public pressure and fired his commander-in-chief, and it said the new army chief, 43-year-old Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, was tasked with presenting an updated defense strategy including continued reform of the corps system and stronger air defense against Russian strikes.
What comes next on the front
NPR said the political changes unfolded against a backdrop of continued deadly strikes by Russia and Ukraine onto each other’s soil, including Ukrainian drones overnight striking two more sprawling warehouses of Russia’s major online retailer, Wildberries, in Russia’s southern regions of Krasnodar and Stavropol.
“Russia attacked Ukraine with four missiles of various types and 216 long-range strike drones overnight”
NPR reported that the strikes came four days after Ukraine’s long-range drones hit massive Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow region and in the Tambov region, killing eight people and wounding dozens, according to officials.
NPR also said Russia attacked Ukraine with four missiles of various types and 216 long-range strike drones overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian air force, and it reported that in the southern Odesa region a Russian drone killed a woman when it struck a two-story apartment building, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said.
The Kyiv Independent quoted Ukrainian soldier Artem Kariakin saying Drapatyi “commands tremendous respect within the Ukrainian military — something that is extremely difficult to earn,” and it described Drapatyi taking over as commander-in-chief on July 21 after Zelensky dismissed Syrskyi.
In a statement carried by Головне в Україні, Valerii Zaluzhnyi warned that “It will be very difficult for the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Much more difficult than he imagines,” while also describing Drapatyi as a man of honour whose main priority is his duty.
