Zelenskyy Reshuffles Top Military Command Amid Protests

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has moved to oust top army commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and sought to bring the country's former defense minister back into government just days after dismissing him.

The reshuffle comes after almost a week of nationwide unrest and represents one of the biggest political crises since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

In a late-night television address, Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he was appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces and thanked the outgoing Syrskyi for playing a key role in Kyiv's defense early in the war.

"The operations of Ukraine's Defense Forces are ongoing and must continue without disruption. Ukraine's long-range sanctions plan and our mid-strike program will be carried out with absolute precision," Zelenskyy said, according to a translation.

Drapatyi thanked Zelenskyy and paid tribute to Syrskyi for his work to strengthen the country's armed forces. "I will work responsibly, focused, and with respect for the people who defend our state today," Drapatyi said in a Facebook post.

Ukraine's president also said he held a meeting with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and offered him a "worthy leadership position that would allow him to bring together our country's technological capabilities and ensure their continued development."

Fedorov, who is seen as a popular figure and an advocate of Ukraine's drone warfare, was dismissed last week in a surprise move that triggered protests in several Ukrainian cities.

Those protests stretched into their fifth consecutive day on Monday, with demonstrators holding placards and waving flags as part of a push for Zelenskyy to reinstate Fedorov and dismiss Syrskyi.

In a post on social media, Fedorov congratulated Drapatyi on his appointment as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military.

"This is a breath of fresh air and a new source of hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice. It is the voice of change that could no longer be ignored," Fedorov said via X.

Having boosted drone production and capabilities in more than four years of war, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and military assets, targeting high-profile oil refineries in major cities as part of a sustained push to raise the economic cost of Russia's conflict and weaken Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

Defense experts and strategists have described Ukraine's drone campaign as pivotal in helping to stall Russia's military momentum, while also warning that Kyiv's deep-strike successes have drastically raised the risk of escalation.