Ukraine overhauls military top brass for fight against Russia

Ukraine has pushed on with its fight against Russia’s invasion under new military leadership, after President Volodymyr Zelensky bowed to public pressure and fired his commander-in-chief.

Ukraine has made significant progress in the war this year, and a rift between the country’s outgoing army chief and its defence minister threatened to derail its efforts.

Both men lost their jobs following Mr Zelensky’s major government reshuffle last week.

The top-level changes late on Tuesday were intended to draw a line under an unwelcome spasm of political turmoil that lasted almost a week and prompted rejoicing in Russia.

The new army chief, 43-year-old Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, belongs to a new generation of Ukrainian generals who have come up through the ranks during the battle against Russian aggression.

He became known for his daring and courage in 2014, the year that Russia seized and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula — eight years before Moscow’s all-out invasion.

Mr Zelensky said Maj Gen Drapatyi and other commanders must present an updated defence strategy, including continued reform of the corps system, faster weapon and drone deliveries, stronger air defence against Russian strikes, and a clearer mobilisation plan.

There is no sign that the two countries are any closer to a peace settlement, despite US-led diplomatic efforts.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow is sticking to its previous demands. They include Kyiv withdrawing its forces from the four eastern regions that Russia has seized but does not fully control, renouncing any aspirations to Nato membership, and sharply cutting the size of its army, among other things.

Mr Peskov told reporters that the Ukrainian political and military changes reflect strains in Kyiv.

“Kyiv’s regime is trembling from within. It can be seen with the naked eye,” he said.

Neither will the top-level alterations change the front line, he told reporters, claiming that Russian forces are on the offensive.

With the war’s roughly 800-mile front line mostly off-limits to independent observers, Russia and Ukraine have also engaged in a propaganda battle.

Mr Zelensky met separately on Tuesday with outgoing defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech-savvy entrepreneur credited with swiftly developing Ukraine’s drone technology that has given it a battlefield edge.

He locked horns with outgoing commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi, a 60-year-old veteran trained in the Soviet Union before Ukraine’s independence.

Street protests in Kyiv and other cities demanded Mr Fedorov’s return, viewing him as a key military moderniser, and urged Mr Zelensky to fire Gen Syrskyi, regarded as part of the old guard.

Mr Zelensky offered Mr Fedorov what he called a respected position in the government that would unify the country’s technology sector.

It was not clear if Mr Fedorov had accepted the offer – or whether the latest moves would satisfy protesters and calm the streets.

Mr Fedorov said after his dismissal last week that he had been offered jobs by some global defence tech companies.

Mr Fedorov supported Maj Gen Drapatyi’s appointment, calling it “new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice” and “a voice for change that could not go unheard”.

Mr Fedorov had criticised Gen Syrskyi publicly before his dismissal, saying the general was blocking his reform efforts and needed to be replaced for Ukraine not to fail in its resistance against Russia.

But Gen Syrskyi defended his wartime record in a statement on Wednesday.

Among other things, he claimed Ukrainian forces had clawed back 287 square miles of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory this year and said he was handing his successor an army that was not only defending but also conducting offensive operations.

It was not possible to independently verify his claim.

Mr Fedorov called Gen Syrskyi to thank him for his military successes, including defending the Kyiv region at the time of Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, the Kharkiv counter-offensive operation later that year and other battles, calling it “already an important part of Ukraine’s history”.

But he added that the country must “move even faster and write new chapters, correcting all previous mistakes”.

The political crisis began last Thursday, when Mr Zelensky overhauled his wartime government, replacing his prime minister and firing Mr Fedorov after six months in the post.

The reshuffle immediately drew thousands of protesters into the streets of Kyiv and other cities, framing Mr Fedorov’s removal as Mr Zelensky siding with an entrenched military old guard over a reformer.

Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he is also appointing Maj Gen Ihor Skybiuk as chief of the General Staff as part of the overhaul.

The political manoeuvres took place against a backdrop of continued deadly strikes by Russia and Ukraine on each other’s soil.

Ukrainian drones struck two more sprawling warehouses of Russia’s major online retailer, Wildberries, in Russia’s southern regions of Krasnodar and Stavropol overnight, Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim and Russian officials said.

The strikes came four days after Ukraine’s long-range drones hit massive Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow region and in the Tambov region, killing eight people and wounding dozens, according to officials.

Mr Zelensky said, without naming the facilities, that they were used by Russia to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks have also struck several major Ukrainian logistics hubs and retail facilities over the past week.

Russia attacked Ukraine with four missiles of various types and 216 long-range strike drones overnight, Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian air force.

In the southern Odesa region, a Russian drone killed a woman when it struck a two-storey apartment building, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said.