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Oleksandr Syrskyi

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Stanislavovych and the family name is Syrskyi.
Oleksandr Syrskyi
Олександр Сирський
Official portrait, 2021
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 February 2024
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterDenys Shmyhal
Preceded byValerii Zaluzhnyi
Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces
In office
5 August 2019 – 11 February 2024
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterVolodymyr Groysman
Oleksiy Honcharuk
Denys Shmyhal
Preceded bySerhiy Popko
Succeeded byOleksandr Pavliuk
Personal details
Born
Aleksandr Syrskyi

(1965-07-26) 26 July 1965 (age 59)
Novinki, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Children2
Alma materMoscow Higher Military Command School
Awards
Nickname(s)Snow Leopard[1]
Butcher[2][3][4][5]
General 200[6][7]
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service Ukrainian Ground Forces
Years of service1986–1991 (Soviet Union)
1991–present (Ukraine)
RankColonel general
CommandsUkrainian Ground Forces, 2019–
Battles/wars

Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi (Ukrainian: Олександр Станіславович Сирський; born 26 July 1965) is a Ukrainian military officer. Holding the rank of four-star general,[10] he has served as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 8 February 2024.[11] Previously, he was the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces from 2019 to 2024, and the commander of the Joint Forces Operation from May to August 2019.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Syrskyi commanded the defence of Kyiv. In September 2022, he commanded the Kharkiv counteroffensive.[12] He then led the defense of Bakhmut into 2023.[13]

Biography

Early career and personal life

Syrskyi was born on July 26, 1965[14] in the village of Novinki, Vladimir Oblast, Russian SFSR, then in the Soviet Union[15] into a military family[16] of ethnic Russians. As of 2023, his parents and brother live in Russia.[17][18][19][20]

In 1980, when Syrskyi was 15, his father was transferred to serve in the Soviet Armed Forces in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR.[21][22] Syrskyi graduated from high school in Kharkiv and entered the Moscow Higher Military Command School, the Soviet Union’s most prestigious military academy. After his graduation in 1986, Syrskyi joined the Soviet Artillery Corps. He initially served in a self-propelled artillery unit equipped with the 152 mm 2S5 Giatsint-S and 203 mm 2S7 Pion self propelled howitzers, including in units earmarked to fire nuclear shells. He later served in Rocket Artillery units fielding the BM-27 Uragan MBRL. He served in Afghanistan, the Tajik SSR, and Czechoslovakia until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[23]

In 1993, following the dissolution of the USSR, Syrskyi's military unit in Chuhuiv was transferred under Ukrainian command, and at the age of 28 he was quickly promoted to a position of a battalion commander (equivalent to the rank of lieutenant-colonel).[24] In 1996 he graduated from the National Defense University of Ukraine, and in 2005 he received a graduate degree from the same university.[25]

In the early 2000s, he was promoted to commander of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, based in Bila Tserkva and promoted to the rank of major-general.[14] In 2007 he was appointed as a Chief of Staff – first deputy of the United Operative Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In 2011-2012 he was first deputy of the Main Directorate of military collaboration and peace-keeping operations.[26] In 2013 he was stationed at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.[21]

Syrskyi is married to a Ukrainian woman, and has 2 sons with her.[27] Until 2009 he was married to a Russian woman, who had a son from a previous marriage. Syrskyi's ex-wife and her son emigrated to Australia in 2010. Syrsky does not maintain any relations with her family.[28][29]

War in Donbas

At the beginning of the war in Eastern Ukraine, he was the chief of staff of anti-terrorist operations.[30] In particular, he was one of the chief commanders of the anti-terrorist operation forces during the battle of Debaltseve. In the winter of 2015, he went to the city with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko. He led the battles in Vuhlehirsk, the village of Ridkodub and an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Lohvynove. He also coordinated the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from Debaltseve.[31] Under his leadership, possible routes of crossing the Karapulka River were blown up.

Oleksandr Syrskyi was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree and later received the rank of lieutenant-general due to his achievement during the battle of Debaltseve.[32][31] In 2016, he headed the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which coordinates the operational actions of various Ukrainian security forces in the Donbas. In 2017, he was the commander of the entire Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. It was later replaced by the Joint Forces Operation.[33][34]

From 6 May to 5 August 2019 he was the commander of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[35][36]

On 5 August 2019, Syrskyi was appointed as Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[37][38] On 23 August 2020, he was promoted to the rank of colonel general.[39] The rank is no longer awarded in the Ukrainian army since 1 October 2020, but Syrskyi retained it, being at this moment the only Ukrainian military officer left in active service to hold this particular rank.[citation needed]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Further information: 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Oleksandr Syrskyi at the headquarters of the Defense Forces in Kupyansk, Kharkiv region on 30 November 2023

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Syrskyi initially organised and led the defense of Kyiv.[40]

Syrskyi with Valerii Zaluzhnyi (right) during the battle for Kyiv, 2022

In April 2022, Syrskyi was given the Hero of Ukraine award for his efforts. In September 2022, media reported that Syrskyi was the architect behind the successful Kharkiv counteroffensive.[41][42]

During the war, Syrskyi was criticised for pursuing bloody Soviet-style military tactics which resulted in significant Ukrainian losses during the Battle of Bakhmut,[43] and was nicknamed "General 200" (a reference to Cargo 200, a Soviet military code denoting military fatalities).[43]

On 8 February 2024, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced Valerii Zaluzhnyi with Syrskyi as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, following months of speculation of a rift between Zaluzhnyi and Zelenskyy.[44]

On 17 February 2024, as his first major decision as commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi ordered the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiivka to "more favourable lines" in order "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of service personnel".

On 28 April 2024, he announced that Ukrainian forces had retreated from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast due to the positions becoming untenable.[45][46]

On 24 July 2024 Syrskyi granted an interview to a British newspaper. He said "We will do everything we can to reach the internationally recognised borders of 1991," and talked about his planned use of the F-16 platform to intercept Russian cruise missiles.[47]

Military ranks

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Who is Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine's new army chief?". Al Jazeera.
  2. ^ "Zaluzhny is out, the 'butcher' is in - POLITICO". Politico.
  3. ^ Kramer, Andrew E.; Varenikova, Maria (8 February 2024). "A New General Takes Over as Ukraine Struggles on the Battlefield". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ "Zelenskyy's new top commander has a reputation as a 'butcher'". POLITICO. 9 February 2024.
  5. ^ Vavra, Shannon (8 February 2024). "Zelensky Appoints New Army Chief Nicknamed the 'Butcher'". The Daily Beast – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  6. ^ Ataman, Frederik Pleitgen, Joseph (10 February 2024). "Outmanned and outgunned: Ukraine's new army chief faces big challenges in taking the fight to Russia". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Ukrainian President Zelenskyy takes command of country's armed forces amid escalating military tensions". The Economic Times. 11 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Ukraine war: Bakhmut defenders double down - Zelensky". 6 March 2023 – via www.bbc.com.
  9. ^ "Who is Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of Ukraine's ground forces?". The Economist. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Zelenskyy promotes Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi to the rank of general". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  11. ^ Walker, Shaun (8 February 2024). "Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  12. ^ Ministry of Defence of Ukraine [@DefenceU] (10 September 2022). "[...] The Commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, Hero of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi is leading the Ukrainian offensive in this sector. [...]" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Five facts about Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's new army chief". Reuters.
  14. ^ a b "Сьогодні святкує ювілей Командувач Сухопутних військ ЗС України". Defense Express (in Ukrainian). 26 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Who is Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of Ukraine's ground forces?". The Economist. 8 June 2023.
  16. ^ ""War mathematician." Who is the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky". BBC Russian Service. 9 February 2024.
  17. ^ ""They call him the butcher " What will happen to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Zaluzhny leaves". RIA Novosti (in Russian). 9 February 2024.
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