President Volodymyr Zelensky fired army chief Oleksandr Syrsky and appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapaty as the new commander-in-chief on March 17, 2022 [1, 2].
The leadership change follows a wave of public unrest in the capital, signaling that street demonstrations can influence high-level military appointments during the conflict.
The dismissal comes after thousands of people protested in Kyiv for a second day over the firing of popular defence minister Andriy Fedorov [4]. These demonstrations grew into a broader movement demanding a change in military leadership. According to Gulliver Cragg of France 24, the main demand of the protestors was that Syrsky be fired [2].
Zelensky's decision to remove Syrsky is viewed as a direct response to this public pressure. Cragg said the move is a victory for the protestors who took to the streets a week before the dismissal, coinciding with the firing of Fedorov [2].
Major General Mykhailo Drapaty now takes over the role of commander-in-chief. This appointment aligns with previous internal military preferences. Cragg said Drapaty was the person Fedorov wanted to see in that position to replace Syrsky [2].
The transition occurs amidst a volatile political climate in Kyiv, where the firing of Fedorov first triggered the unrest [4]. The sequence of events suggests a link between the popular support for the former defence minister and the subsequent demand for a new army chief.
“Their main demand was that Syrsky be fired.”
The removal of Oleksandr Syrsky demonstrates the impact of civilian unrest on Ukraine's wartime military hierarchy. By appointing Mykhailo Drapaty, a figure previously favored by the ousted Andriy Fedorov, Zelensky has attempted to stabilize internal tensions and appease a segment of the public that viewed the previous leadership changes as detrimental to the national defense.
