New Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Sirski, the 'Butcher' Who Led Kyiv Defense and Kharkiv Counterattack

A Crucial Duty to Change the Struggling Jeonse
Defended the Capital After Initial Last Stand
Also Commanded the Fierce Battle of Bakhmut

Following Ukraine's 'national hero' General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Oleksandr Syrskyi (58) has been appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, taking on the crucial responsibility of turning the tide in the struggling war against Russia.

Two Ukrainian soldiers stand facing each other inside a trench on the Kharkiv-Kupiansk front.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 8th (local time), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, "From today, a new command will take charge of the Ukrainian military," appointing Lieutenant General Syrskyi as the Commander-in-Chief.

The newly appointed Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi is a veteran who has been responsible for defending the capital Kyiv as the Ground Forces Commander. President Zelensky described Syrskyi as "the most experienced commander in Ukraine."

According to foreign media, Syrskyi was born in 1965 in the Vladimir region of the former Soviet Union. He attended the Moscow Higher Military Command School and served as a major in the artillery. Since the 1980s, he has been living in Ukraine.

According to the New York Times (NYT), Syrskyi is well known in the Ukrainian military by the nickname "butcher." Experts evaluate his command style as a blend of the hierarchical characteristics of Soviet military tactics and the flexibility principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In 2014, when Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, Syrskyi served as the Ground Forces Operational Commander in eastern Ukraine. When pro-Russian forces rose up in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that year, he led the Ukrainian military into battle and has since been known by the radio call sign "snow leopard." This reflects his agile and brave command style.

Appointed as Ground Forces Commander in 2019, he played a key role in successfully defending Kyiv when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. At that time, the West feared that Russia could capture Kyiv within days, but the Ukrainian military fiercely resisted the Russian forces equipped with tanks and armored vehicles.

Syrskyi was later awarded Ukraine's highest honor, the Hero Award, for repelling the Russian forces advancing on Kyiv. In September of the same year, he led the Ukrainian military in a counteroffensive in northwestern Kharkiv, recapturing cities such as Kupiansk and Izium from Russia.

He also led the battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, considered the war's fiercest battleground. However, he has faced criticism for the high number of Ukrainian casualties during the months of intense fighting in Bakhmut until the Russian mercenary group Wagner Group captured the city in May last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.