Zelensky dismisses head of Ukrainian army after a week of protests

BarcelonaThe Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced late Tuesday the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Oleksandr Sirski, and the appointment, in his place, of Mykhailo Draparti, who until now led the joint forces of the army. The move comes after six days of protests in several cities of the country for the dismissal of the Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, who had clashed with the general over the strategy to follow in the war against Russia.

In his nightly address, the president praised Sirski's work, aged 60, in defending Kyiv at the start of the Russian invasion, in the Kharkiv counteroffensive in September 2022, and in the offensive in Russia's Kursk region in the summer of 2024. "Significant progress has been made, Ukraine's defense continues and all soldiers must be treated with dignity. I am grateful to Oleksandr Sirski and all our soldiers for Ukraine's strong front-line positions," he stated.

Zelensky also said he had met with Fedorov and offered him a "dignified position" to "unify the state's technological component and ensure its development." Fedorov, 35, is a very popular politician and has led the technological modernization effort with the use of drones at the front. According to some sources, the young minister's dismissal occurred due to the clash with Sirski, who accused him of prioritizing drones over the purchase of artillery ammunition, still necessary in trench warfare.

According to Ukrainian media, Sirski has favored a highly centralized command structure rooted in Soviet military doctrine. As reported by the newspaper Ukraïnska Pravda, Zelensky justified his dismissal to a group of deputies by arguing that he could no longer tolerate the constant conflict between the Minister of Defense, a young expert in new technologies, and the Commander-in-Chief of the army, a general trained in the Soviet era. "They live in two different worlds. Fedorov wants to digitize everything and build the system around technology. The military simply wants to be heard and asks for a type of armament to be acquired, while he refuses and instead finances other areas. They have simply stopped listening to each other."

Fedorov said at a press conference, the day after his dismissal, that Syrsky had imposed an ultimatum on Zelensky. This Monday, the general apologized to the former Minister of Defense and stated that he was not aware of the conflict between them.

A general who fought in the Donbas war

The president opted to preserve the structure of the military command. But subsequent protests, which called for Fédorov's reinstatement and Sirski's dismissal, have forced him to react. Zelenski has opted to replace the commander-in-chief of the army with Mikhailo Drapati, who has shown his support for Fédorov. According to local media, the general has earned a reputation as one of Ukraine's most respected senior commanders, and in recent days he was already being pointed to as the main candidate to replace Sirski.

Drapati's military successes, at 44 years old, began twelve years ago, during the Donbas war, when he participated in the liberation of Mariupol in 2014. As Ukraïnska Pravda highlights, his infantry fighting vehicle was the first to cross the Russian barriers. In 2022, at the start of the full-scale invasion, he led the defense of Kryvyi Rih, which managed to stop the occupants and stabilize the contact line. He was also one of the commanders who led the liberation of the right bank of Kherson, one of the Ukrainian army's main successes during the war against Russia.

In February 2024, Drapati was appointed deputy chief of the general staff of the armed forces, and in November of that same year, he became commander of the ground forces. In June of last year, Zelenski appointed him commander of the joint forces.