What the new Ukrainian commander Syrskyj stands for

He liberated Kherson and he was responsible for the losses in Bakhmut: Colonel General Syrskyj has been appointed the new commander of the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn't like firing his subordinates with a bang – unless they have completely failed or been involved in too big a scandal. Otherwise, the presidential office always tries to signal mutual agreement and, ideally, to offer another position in Zelenskyj's team. The popular Ukrainian army commander Valeriy is not a failure, even though his troops celebrated the last major victory in the defensive war against Russia in November 2022 with the liberation of the city of Kherson.

Over the last week and a half, Zelensky and his Defense Minister Rustem Umerov have always tried to keep the personnel decision calm to the outside world. Because Saluschnyj had initially rejected a voluntary resignation, time was necessary. The President's office ultimately managed to limit the damage to a certain extent: a friendly photo together and friendly mutual statements are unlikely to calm all critical voices regarding the decision, which is rather controversial in society. But they were necessary.

It is unlikely that Saluschnyj will accept the offer to stay in Zelenskyj's team. But it is also the case that he immediately becomes politically active – and that is initially good, especially for the country in the midst of a difficult war for survival.

Selenskyj is actually not someone whose decisions are easily predictable. He already showed this with the appointment of Saluschnyj in July 2021: According to the unofficial hierarchy, the now 50-year-old was not necessarily intended to be the next in line for the position of commander. And that was also the case with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov last September: Nobody had him on the list for the position for a long time.
This time, however, Zelensky did not choose the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, which was the subject of much speculation and would have been a very unusual step, and not entirely surprising to anyone.

Nickname “Snow Leopard”

The appointment of the 58-year-old Colonel General (three-star general, lieutenant general in the NATO system) Oleksandr Syrskyj, who had been commander of the land forces since 2019, was obvious and completely logical – not just because he is similar to Budanov maintains good relations with the president. And actually he is someone who would have been better off than Saluzhny in July 2021. Syrskyj, nicknamed Bars (“Snow Leopard”), is, at least on paper, the most successful general of this war.

On the one hand, he was responsible for the defense of Kiev at the start of the full-scale invasion. He organized the deployment of anti-aircraft defenses and aircraft, planned the defense lines and, for example, made the decision in mid-March 2022 to blow up a dam in the village of Moschun, which prevented the Russians from entering the capital at a critical moment. The battle for Kiev was thus decided.

In September 2022, he finally organized the creative and lightning offensive in the Kharkiv district, of which he had to convince, among others, Salushnyj, who, according to rumors, wanted to concentrate entirely on Kherson for the time being. This operation resulted in very few casualties on the Ukrainian side and is overall considered the most successful in these almost two years. On the other hand, he was also instrumental in the defense of Bakhmut, which cost a lot of victims and from a certain point onwards some people in Ukraine and abroad no longer believed in its meaning.

Born in Russia, studied in Moscow

That's why there are two very different opinions about Syrskyj in the army. Some hold him in high regard and consider Syrskyj to be much closer to the troops than Saluschnyj, who rarely came near the front. Others think the
58-year-old is a general who cares little about human losses. Apart from the fact that he plans his operations very meticulously down to the last detail, the completely different experiences of Kharkiv and Bakhmut make it difficult if not impossible to say which is closer to the truth.

What is certainly the case, however, is that as a native and ethnic Russian who completed his military training in Moscow and still speaks Ukrainian with a Russian accent, Syrskyj will always hear the prejudices about the “old Soviet school,” no matter how successful he is may be at the front. A lot will also depend on which generals will take over the most important positions on his staff, because Saluzhny's team is completely gone.

Only the larger group of candidates has already been determined. No major changes are expected at the front, where there will be active defense for the time being anyway. But Zelensky is hoping that Syrsky, whom he trusts, will provide a breath of fresh air and a clear, realistic plan for 2024 – something he apparently unsuccessfully demanded of Saluzhny.