Ukrainian Military Commander-In-Chief Zaluzhnyi Replaced
Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky announced Thursday that he had appointed Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi as the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, replacing General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
In his daily evening video address, Zelensky said Syrski’s appointment was part of a “new management team” for the leadership of the Ukrainian military, crediting the general’s experiences in the defense of Kyiv in the early days of the Russian invasion, and the Kharkiv counteroffensive. Prior to the address, Zelensky said that he had proposed for Zaluzhnyi to “remain part of the team” despite no longer being the Ukrainian military’s top commander.
Zaluzhnyi’s replacement ends nearly two weeks of speculation on whether he would be told to resign, with reports on January 29 of his imminent dismissal denied by Zelensky’s office and the Ukrainian defense ministry later that week. However, Zelensky subsequently told RAI TV that a leadership “reset” had become necessary in an interview aired by the Italian public broadcaster on February 4, with leadership changes not limited to the Ukrainian military.
Zaluzhnyi had been appointed chief of the Ukrainian military in July 2021, with his leadership of the Ukrainian military since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion giving him broad support with the Ukrainian public, and an icon of the differences in leadership mentality between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries.
However, recent months have seen rumors of a growing rift between Zaluzhnyi and Zelensky, especially following the November 2023 publication of an interview in The Economist where Zaluzhnyi seemingly claimed that Ukraine was now in a stalemate. While published alongside an editorial from Zaluzhnyi arguing that Ukraine needed to continue developing its technological edge to prevent a stalemate from forming, Zelensky subsequently publicly disputed the “stalemate” description.
Syrskyi also has a controversial reputation, with one the main points of contention being the Ground Forces’ chief’s decision to hold Bakhmut through early 2023 in a battle of attrition against Russian forces. While the heavy Russian casualties incurred in their capture of the city appear to have been the final push in inciting Wagner head Yevgeny Prighozin’s abortive revolt, Ukrainian casualties defending the city have also given rise to a perception among Ukrainian troops of a “Soviet-style” leader that defended Bakhmut for far longer than he should have.