Who is Ukraine’s new army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi? The Soviet-born ‘snow leopard’ who became a Ukrainian hero
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi has been named as the new chief of Ukraine’s army.
The 58-year-old was promoted by Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he removed General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi from the post after months of friction between the pair.
Mr Syrskyi has played a key role in some of Ukraine’s biggest victories – but has also faced criticism for some of his tactics.
Here’s what you need to know about Ukraine’s new army chief.
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From Soviet Union to Ukraine
Mr Syrskyi was born in July 1965 in what is now Russia’s Vladimir region, which was then part of the Soviet Union.
He studied in Moscow at the Higher Military Command School – which has produced commanders in both the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.
Described as an obsessive planner with iron discipline, some military analysts believe his battlefield tactics reflect his hierarchical Soviet training.
He graduated in 1986 and served in the Soviet Artillery Corps, but did not serve in post-Soviet Russia’s army.
Regardless, senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev called him a “traitor” on his appointment, accusing him of breaking his oath as an officer.
He moved to Ukraine in the 1980s.
The ‘snow leopard’ who became a Ukrainian hero
Mr Syrskyi has commanded troops against combined Russian forces since 2014, when he earned his call sign “snow leopard”.
They fought a Moscow-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine using “tactics that were similar to how this cat hunts,” he told Reuters in January.
“This creature is very careful, cunning and courageous.”
Oleksandr Syrskyi speaks to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters
Mr Syrskyi became head of Ukraine’s land forces in 2019.
Some of Ukraine’s biggest victories of Russia’s full-scale invasion were overseen by Mr Syrskyi.
He led the successful defence of Kyiv in the war’s early months and was later named a Hero of Ukraine, the country’s highest honour, for his role in repelling Moscow’s advance on the capital.
He was credited with orchestrating a lightning counteroffensive that pushed Russian troops away from the city of Kharkiv and retook swathes of land to the east and southeast.
Mr Syrskyi also led the Bakhmut operation, the war’s longest and bloodiest, which has been criticised because of the high losses suffered by Ukrainian forces.
But he has defended the operation, saying Ukraine’s dogged defence of Bakhmut damaged Russia’s overall war effort by tying down the Wagner mercenary group.
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‘Constant innovation’ needed for Ukraine to win
On his first full day in the job, Mr Syrskyi said Ukraine’s path to victory was reliant on constant innovation in the way it fights the war, highlighting technology like drones and electronic warfare.
He also promised to protect the lives and health of Ukrainian forces and ensure reliable logistics.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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