Zelensky picked a Russian General as the new leader of Ukraine’s army

A change in Ukraine’s military leadership – anticipated for several months – has finally happened. He’s an experienced military commander with a long track record, but a controversial background. Syrsky was born in Russia, and comes from a family of patriots.

As a result of a long simmering personal conflict between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, the latter has been replaced by Alexander Syrsky. Russian patriots.

Even the military decisions made by Syrsky over the course of his career raise many doubts about whether the commander – who has earned the nicknames butcher and General-200 (200 being the military code for soldier’s corpses) is really the best man for the job.

However, as experts note, Syrsky is a convenient option for Zelensky since he is not a political rival of the Ukrainian president.

Tensions between Zelensky and Zaluzhny had flared up because of the Ukrainian army’s failures at the front. The president and the commander-in-chief blamed each other for last year’s failed summer counteroffensive.

While initially there were only rumors about a disagreement, later the situation became public. By the end of January, the Ukrainian media was actively discussing Zaluzhny’s imminent dismissal.

While such plans were officially denied by the authorities, the press didn’t stop talking about Zelensky’s intentions to fire the top general. Western media also covered the story. 

Zelensky himself only confirmed the plans to replace Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief on February 5, in an interview with RAI Italia. Commenting on the decision, he said that a reset was necessary because of evident stagnation.

Three days later, the identity of the new Commander-in-Chief – who would inherit all the challenges which had initially caused the conflict between Ukraine’s military and political leadership – became known.

Zelensky appointed Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, who had previously commanded the ground forces, as the new commander-in-chief of the AFU. Syrsky is a controversial figure and his biography has given rise to many discussions among ordinary Ukrainians.

Born on July 26, 1965 in Novinki, a village located less than 90 miles east of Moscow in Vladimir Region, his military career also started in Russia: in 1982, he entered the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School.

In 1986, he was sent to serve in the Ukrainian SSR. There, he served as the commander of the motorized rifle platoon of the First Combined Arms Army’s 25th Division, 426th Regiment. After the collapse of the USSR, Syrsky became a Ukrainian citizen.

It took the soldier several decades to be promoted to Colonel-General. In 1993, he was the commander of the motorized rifle battalion of the 6th Division of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Two years later, he became Regiment Commander. In 2000-2002, he served as Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Division of the AFU, stationed in the city of Belaya Tserkov, in the Kiev region.

Later, this unit became a brigade, and Syrsky headed it as Major General. Syrsky’s family lives in Russia to this day. His father is retired from the military, his mother sings in a choir and enjoys gardening, and his brother works as a security guard.

His 82-year-old mother, Lyudmila Syrsky, is active on social media and often ‘likes’ posts such as the late Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s quotes about Ukraine, those wishing Russian President Vladimir Putin well, and comments making fun of the current laws in Ukraine.

Lyudmila Syrsky has advised young Russians to defend the interests of their homeland in the conflict zone. “Go defend Russia,” she said in a video posted by Ruptly on Telegram.

In military circles, Syrsky has several nicknames – General 200 (200 being the military code for soldier’s corpses), butcher, and cannibal.

He got all these nicknames as a result of his willingness to sacrifice people for the sake of achieving results on the battlefield. For example, he ​​ordered massive infantry attacks on the positions of the Russian Armed Forces, which led to huge losses for the AFU.

In July 2022, Syrsky was in charge of the operation in the Kharkov region. In September, he was responsible for the counteroffensive in that area.

Later, he was appointed Commander of the AFU in Artemovsk (Bakhmut) which is where he received the nickname butcher. As Politico wrote, he was responsible for leading the Ukrainian troops into the Artemovsk meat grinder.

During the 2023 counteroffensive, Syrsky insisted on strengthening the AFU’s defense near Kupyansk, where Russian troops had made significant progress.

He believed that the northeast region was more important for the AFU than the south, but eventually the Ukrainian army dispersed its forces to the east and south.

Syrsky is also associated with battles in Debaltsevo, which occurred at the beginning of the armed conflict in Donbass.

In 2015, member of the AFU were encircled in the so-called Debaltsevo cauldron, where many Ukrainian soldiers died. For this operation, Syrsky received the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 3rd class.

In his first statement after being appointed Commander-in-Chief, Syrsky said that the life and health of Ukrainian servicemen have always been and will always remain the main priority of the Ukrainian army.

Therefore, maintaining balance between carrying out combat missions and restoring units and sub-units [to desired combat capability], and intensifying the training of personnel remains more relevant than ever.

Zelensky chose Syrsky because he doesn’t see him as a political rival, Vladimir Oleinik, a member of the Other Ukraine political movement, and a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, told RT.

According to Oleinik, Zelensky and Zaluzhny held radically different views and simply could not come to an agreement.

In order to retain power, especially in light of the growing support Zaluzhny has received from oligarchs and politicians, Zelensky opted for a “safer” candidate for the post of Commander-in-Chief.

The choice fell on Syrsky since he didn’t pose a threat to Zelensky’s presidency.

Today, Zelensky’s main goal is to keep the situation under control until the presidential elections in the USA.

If the same thing happens in Ukraine as in Afghanistan, [US President Joe] Biden doesn’t have any chance of winning the elections.

It is not a coincidence that on the exact day when Syrsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief, he addressed the Cabinet of Ministers and proposed to extend the operation hours of military enlistment offices, so they would work 24 hours a day.

We saw how people were caught [on the street and drafted into the army] during the day, now this will happen at night as well. War casualties are always good for the organ trade business.

All this corresponds to the US concept and to Zelensky’s plan. In other words, people are not dying for their country, they’re dying for Biden and Zelensky.

Society has also realized that [Syrsky] is ‘General death’. The discussion in Ukraine continues. They are in their death throes.

RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2024.