On February 8, 58-year-old Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi became the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine instead of Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
This is evidenced by the decision of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Нead of state called Syrskyi the most experienced commander.
"He has a successful experience of defense - he conducted Kyiv defense operation. He also has a successful experience of offensive - Kharkiv liberation operation," he emphasized.
What is known about the new commander-in-chief of the AFU
According to open sources, Oleksandr Syrskyi was born on July 26, 1965 in the village of Novinki, Vladimir Region of the Russian Federation. He graduated from the Moscow Higher Military Command School in 1986, and after independence he began to serve in the National Guard, and then in the Armed Forces.
In particular, from the 2000s he was the Commander of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and was involved in cooperation between Ukraine and NATO.
In the winter of 2015, he was one of the key ATO commanders in the battles for Debaltseve, when he was able to withdraw the Ukrainian group from the city, which was actually surrounded by Russian occupants. For this he received the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Since 2016, he headed the Joint Operational Headquarters, which coordinated the actions of Ukrainian forces in Donbas. Since 2019, he was the Commander of the Ground Forces.
At the beginning of a full-scale war in February 2022, Syrskyi was responsible for the defense of Kyiv. For this, he was awarded the title "Hero of Ukraine".
By his order, the military training centers created special temporary battalions and brought artillery systems to Kyiv. He divided the city and surrounding areas into sectors, appointing generals from the military training centers to control each district. He also created a clear chain of command for all Ukrainian military units and security services. At the same time, during the defense of the capital, officers on the ground could make tactical decisions immediately without the need for consultation with the headquarters.
By the general's decision, the bridge crossings in Kyiv Region were destroyed and the dam on the Irpin River in Kozarovychi was blown up. This led to the flooding of the positions of Russian occupants and prevented the enemy from advancing on Kyiv.
In the fall of 2022, Syrskyi became one of the commanders of the counteroffensive in Kharkiv Region. As a result, Russians were pushed back from Kharkiv to a safe distance that exceeded the range of artillery fire. This allowed the Defense Forces to move on to Balakliia - Izyum - Sviatohirsk - Lyman - Kreminna.
Afterwards, the Ministry of Defense named him among the creators of the Ukrainian army's victories - "the Atlanteans who hold the operation on their shoulders."
In 2022-2023, he became Commander of the "Khortytsia" OSGT. In the fall of 2022 - spring of 2023, he led the defense of Soledar and Bakhmut in Donbas.
