Rescue workers try to put out a fire of a residential building burning after a Russian air guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. The decision on Tuesday followed days of mass protests in Kyiv, the country's capital, and other cities demanding his removal. At the same time as he fired Syrskyi, the Ukrainian leader appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new army chief. In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said he made the decision to appoint the new army chief after a series of meetings with military commanders. It was the second major reversal Zelenskyy has made under pressure from the streets, after protests last summer forced him to undo a law weakening Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs.
Ukraine is pushing on with its fight against Russia under new military leadership. President Zelenskyy fired his commander-in-chief after public pressure. This change follows a rift between the outgoing army chief and defense minister, both of whom lost their jobs. The new army chief, Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, is part of a new generation of Ukrainian generals. Zelenskyy has tasked Drapatyi with updating the defense strategy. Street protests in Kyiv demanded the return of the tech-savvy defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones have struck warehouses in Russia, targeting facilities they say were used for drone production.
