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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked the country’s commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi, after days of widespread protests against the removal of the country’s popular defense minister.
The dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov last week sparked days of street protests and revealed an unprecedented public split in the military over Kyiv’s strategy in the war against Russia.
Zelensky on Tuesday offered Fedorov a “prominent position in government that would allow him to unify the technical component of our state and ensure its development.” It was not clear if the offer had been accepted.
Fedorov, 35, carved out a reputation for pioneering innovative approaches to technology and recruitment, but clashed with other members of Ukraine’s defense establishment.
His six-month tenure as defense minister coincided with Ukraine’s recent success on the battlefield and so his removal, amid disagreements with Syrskyi, caused a backlash against the military chief.
Fedorov’s policies emphasized the strategic importance of new military technology, particularly drones, which have helped stymie Russian advances on the battlefield and inflict widespread damage on oil refineries deep inside Russia.
As protests against Fedorov’s removal continued, speculation surrounding Syrskyi’s future mounted. On Monday, Zelensky met with several of Ukraine’s top generals and his chief of staff issued veiled statements that “the position of society has been heard.”
Syrskyi, who rarely expresses himself publicly, wrote an opinion piece for local military media on Monday in which he apologized if he had offended Fedorov. He also claimed responsibility for establishing a drone unit as a separate military branch and rejected suggestions that he did not support the widespread use of drones.
“I can’t switch a million-people army to drones in two months and say, ‘Now this is how we’re going to fight,’” he wrote. “Aside from the fact that this is clearly a reckless venture, any experiment on this scale comes at the cost of our land and our people.”
Syrskyi will be replaced by Mykhailo Drapatyi, the commander of Ukraine’s Joint Forces. He is well known in the country for a viral 2014 video which shows him driving an armored infantry fighting vehicle through a separatist barricade in Mariupol.
Fedorov congratulated Drapatyi on his appointment in a post on Telegram, saying “this is a new wind and a new hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice.”
He also called Syrskyi and thanked him for his efforts defending Ukraine.
CNN’s Tim Lister, Daria-Tarasova-Markina and Andrew Carey contributed reporting.
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