After the overthrow Zalogny… Who is the new commander of the Ukrainian army?

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a statement in which he said that he had decided to replace the Commander of the Ukrainian Army, General Valery Zalogny, with the Commander of the Ground Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi.

This change is considered a huge risk while Russia’s military advantage on the ground appears to be in the war between the two countries, and there are fears that the dismissal of Zalogny, who enjoys widespread popularity and has been nicknamed the “Iron General,” would deal a blow to the morale of the forces on a 1,000-kilometer front.

The man appointed by Ukraine’s president to lead the country’s military played a key role in some of Ukraine’s biggest victories in its war with Russia, including overseeing the successful defense of the capital in the early days of the invasion.

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, assumes the key position at a challenging time.

As the war approaches its third year, morale is low, the army faces shortages of ammunition and personnel, and Kiev struggles to maintain support from the West.

The selection of Syrskyi as chief commander doesn’t come as a surprise, as few members of the Ukrainian military have the experience and knowledge to fill the highly popular position of his predecessor.

Syrskyi, 58, is credited with initially organizing the defense of Kiev in February 2022, when many in Ukraine were still dismissing Western warnings that a Russian attack appeared imminent.

He was later awarded the Hero of Ukraine award, the country’s highest honor, for his role in repelling Moscow’s advance on the capital.

In September 2022, Syrskyi was credited with organizing the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, which was the most important Ukrainian victory of the war and enabled Kiev to recapture the cities of Kubyansk and Izyum from the Russians.

He also commanded Operation Bakhmut, which was the longest and bloodiest of the war and was criticized for the heavy casualties suffered by Ukrainian forces.

But the tactic of pinning Russian forces in a strategically important salt mining town also drained Russian forces and resources, weakening its ability to make major breakthroughs elsewhere.

As victories turned to attrition on the front line, Syrskyi had to oversee the most difficult phase of the war, which will enter its third year later this month.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, born in 1965 in the Soviet Union, and he attended the Higher Military Command School in Moscow and served in the Soviet Artillery Corps.

Described as an obsessive planner with a strict disciplinarian, Syrskyi was the commander of operations in eastern Ukraine and played an important role in the 2014 war, when Russia annexed Crimea.

For its part, the Kremlin considered that replacing the Ukrainian army commander wouldn’t affect the course of the war that has been going on for nearly two years.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “We don’t believe that this step is an influencing factor in the course of the special military operation,” stressing that the attack “will continue until the goals set for it are achieved”.