Ukraine's Fedorov on military chief Syrskyi: he focused on splitting Ukraine instead of finding ways to defeat Russia

Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said he called for Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, to be replaced, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not agree. According to Fedorov, all the Defence Ministry's proposals to improve the armed forces' operations on the front line encountered resistance from the commander-in-chief.

Source: Fedorov during a briefing on 16 July

Quote: "When the president said he did not intend to replace Syrskyi, I fully supported that decision and said I would learn to work with him, because our client is the Ukrainian people as a whole.

But we found ourselves in a situation where every initiative we put forward began to be blocked. Syrskyi is not willing to discuss problems face-to-face. He is willing to attend meetings in person, to engage in intrigues and to assume that someone ordered a media campaign against him, rather than acknowledge that the problem lies in what is actually happening. This ultimately led to a situation in which, in effect, he issued an ultimatum.

Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically, he figured out how to split the country. And that's a major problem..."

"I never made it a matter of 'it's either Syrskyi or me'. I said that we'd have to defeat Russia with this commander-in-chief in charge."

Details: Fedorov added that Syrskyi's contribution should not be underestimated: "He led the Kyiv and Kharkiv operations and took part in the Kherson operation. We cannot underestimate a commander like that."

Quote: "But the war has changed completely. Drone technology is evolving every few months. The command-and-control system has changed, and we need to change as well. We cannot continue doing things the way we did back then. We need to understand what had to be done then and what needs to be done now to defeat Russia.

I don't think this is about ego. I think there are other reasons… Many documents have not been signed. I spoke openly about this; we know how to get through the bureaucracy, so let's do it. I was told: 'Don't touch it!' I put up with it and was prepared to continue working quietly until the commander-in-chief issued an ultimatum."

Background:

• Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Servant of the People faction said Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not be putting Fedorov forward for the post of defence minister as part of the government reshuffle. Ihor Klymenko, currently acting Minister of Internal Affairs, could become the new defence minister.
• Sources in the faction also say Fedorov remains on the president's team, "but what he will do next will become clearer next week".
• Earlier, Fedorov summed up his tenure, outlined what he had not managed to accomplish and said he will continue his mission to "defeat the enemy through asymmetry, the speed of innovation and the power of organisation".
• On 16 July, the Ukrainian parliament appointed Serhii Koretskyi, former CEO of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, as prime minister.
• Protests in support of Fedorov are taking place on 16 July near the President's Office in Kyiv and in several other cities across Ukraine.

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