Photo: Oleksandr Syrskyi / Telegram
President Volodymyr Zelensky is considering replacing Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and is meeting frontline commanders this weekend to assess the battlefield situation and interview potential successors, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the meetings come as Ukraine faces what the newspaper describes as the biggest crisis in its military leadership since Zelensky took office. The president is said to be prepared to dismiss Syrskyi if he identifies a commander capable of ensuring a smooth transition while maintaining Ukraine's defenses along the 1,200-kilometer frontline.
The report follows several days of public protests in Ukraine, where demonstrators have demanded not only the reinstatement of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov but also Syrskyi's resignation. Zelensky recently acknowledged tensions between the two men, saying their conflict required his personal mediation.
The Financial Times said the protests were one of the factors prompting Zelensky to reconsider Syrskyi's future.
The debate has intensified after activist Serhii Sternenko claimed military commanders were instructed to record public messages supporting Syrskyi and that soldiers who refused faced pressure. Medical officer Alina Mykhailova also alleged that military authorities had sought to identify personnel expressing support for the protests. Separately, OSINT project DeepState said many soldiers were dissatisfied with Syrskyi's leadership but feared speaking publicly because of possible repercussions.
