FILE – In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi speaks to parliamentarians at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP, File)(Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, following days of mass protests in Kyiv and other cities nationwide demanding his removal.
Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new army chief, according to a statement on social media.
“Our shared wish is one — victory over the enemy and conditions at the front and in pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” Zelenskyy said. He said “a significant path has been traveled, the defense of Ukraine continues, and every warrior deserves dignified treatment.”
Activists hold a portrait of Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi demanding his resignation during a rally to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)Rescuers work at the damaged apartment building following a Russian air guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)(AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)Rescue workers try to put out a fire of a residential building burning after a Russian air guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)(AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
