Oleksandr Syrskyi new commander of the Ukrainian army

(Patria) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi as the supreme commander of the Ukrainian army, just minutes after announcing that it was time for "renewal" and "renewed leadership" of the country's armed forces.

In his statement yesterday, Zelenskyy stated that Syrskyi "has successful defensive experience - he led the defense operation of Kyiv. He also has successful offensive experience - the operation to liberate Kharkiv," RSE reports.

Born in Russia, the fifty-eight-year-old Syrskyi, who has been commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces since 2019, replaced General Valerii Zaluzhnyi amid reports that Zelenskyy was seriously considering his dismissal.

Syrskyi was one of the main commanders who led the Ukrainian armed forces' fight against the Russian-backed separatist offensives that began in 2014, shortly after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea.

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Syrskyi led the successful counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces to regain control of the Kharkiv region in September of that year.

/qpost/333500/Zelenski-smijenio-komandanta-Oruanih-snaga-Ukrajine

Zelenski smijenio komandanta Oružanih snaga Ukrajine

(Patria) - Predsjednik Ukrajine Volodimir Zelenski smijenio je komandanta Oružanih snaga te zemlje.Najvjerovatniji kandidat za zamjenu Valerija Zalužnog na mjestu vrhovnog komandanta Oružanih snaga Ukrajine je komandant Kopnene vojske Oleksandr Si

In April 2022, Syrskyi's successful leadership in the defense of the Ukrainian capital earned him the title "Hero of Ukraine," awarded by a decree signed by Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy met with Zaluzhnyi earlier yesterday and said he had asked him to remain "on the team," although he did not say in what capacity.

Zaluzhnyi also wrote on Telegram yesterday that he and Zelenskyy had "made the decision about the necessity of changing the approach and strategy" in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.

For weeks, there had been speculation that Zelenskyy was considering removing Zaluzhnyi due to differences in strategy as Ukraine fights to repel invading troops from Russia.

Tensions between Zaluzhnyi and Zelenskyy emerged in November after the supreme commander published a comment in The Economist, stating that the war had entered a stalemate and that only technological progress would allow Ukraine to achieve its goals of liberating occupied territory.

Zelenskyy's office quickly dismissed that battlefield assessment.

Polls had previously shown Zaluzhnyi's popularity in the country to be as high, if not higher, than Zelenskyy's, and some experts suggested that if Zelenskyy decided to dismiss Zaluzhnyi, it would demoralize some Ukrainian troops and undermine national unity.