Zelensky fires army chief Syrskiy after 4 days of Kyiv protests

Ukraine's top general was ousted after a power struggle over drone warfare strategy triggered the largest street demonstrations since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired armed-forces chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy on Tuesday, bowing to four days of street protests triggered by the dismissal of a reformist defense minister who championed drone warfare.

"This is a breath of fresh air and a new source of hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice," former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, wrote on X after the announcement. "It is the voice of change that could no longer be ignored."

Zelensky appointed Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy, 43, as the new commander in chief. Drapatiy previously served as land forces commander and joint forces commander, and helped liberate the southern city of Kherson during the 2022 counteroffensive. He has publicly praised Fedorov's efforts to accelerate the military's adoption of drone technology and battlefield robotics.

The shake-up marks the second time Zelensky has replaced his top general during the four-year war, following the February 2024 dismissal of Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi. It injects fresh uncertainty into Ukraine's military strategy at a time when Western aid flows and battlefield momentum remain critical variables for the country's defense against Russia's full-scale invasion.

Syrskiy led the initial defense of Kyiv in February 2022, planned the counteroffensive that recaptured broad swaths of eastern territory, and oversaw Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk province — the first foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War II. But in recent months he became entangled in a worsening conflict with Fedorov, whom Zelensky appointed defense minister in January and who quickly drew acclaim for the success of Ukraine's expanding drone campaign reaching deeper into Russian territory.

After Zelensky initially sided with Syrskiy and removed Fedorov last week, Fedorov accused the general of being too slow to adapt to efforts to streamline and modernize the armed forces. At one point Fedorov said Syrskiy had told Zelensky that one of them would have to go — a claim Syrskiy denied. The manner of Fedorov's departure sparked protests, with thousands taking to the streets in Kyiv and other cities.

Some politicians warned the protests risked destabilizing the country during wartime. "This is a path to the country's collapse," Oleksandr Fediyenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said Monday before the military reshuffle. Valeriy Pekar, a prominent media commentator, said the protests reflected a breakdown in political communication channels during the forced absence of the electoral process.

Zelensky said Drapatiy's priorities would include updating Ukraine's overall defense strategy, continuing military reforms, and providing what he called a "real vision" for mobilizing more troops. He also said maintaining resources for long- and medium-range strikes on Russia would be a key objective for both Drapatiy and acting Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara.

The last time Ukraine changed its top commander — when Zaluzhnyi was replaced by Syrskiy in February 2024 — the transition occurred without public protests and was followed by months of grinding positional warfare along the eastern front. This time, the ouster follows a very public power struggle between military traditionalists and a younger generation of tech-focused reformers, raising questions about whether the shift signals a broader strategic pivot toward drone-centric warfare.

Fedorov did not indicate what role he might play next. Zelensky said he offered the former minister "a worthy leadership position that would allow him to bring together our country's technological capabilities." In his post on X, Fedorov said the Ukrainian people's expectations required a clear vision for ending the war and decisive action on saving lives and "robotizing" the battlefield.

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