Kyiv Hits 13 Russian Vessels in Black Sea, Sea of Azov in 48 Hours | WION News

[00:00:00]But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has in fact dismissed the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, amidst an ongoing political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular defense minister.

[00:00:11]The Ukrainian leader appointed joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapatiy in his place. And 60-year-old Syrskyi was serving the position since 2024 and was amongst Kyiv's most experienced commanders. He in fact led the defense of Kyiv at the start of the Russian attack in 2022 as the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces. Syrskyi had replaced the highly popular General Valerii Zaluzhnyi as the commander-in-chief in February 2024.

[00:00:43]>> I have decided that the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapatiy. It is a fact that Oleksandr Syrskyi delivered results for Ukraine in the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive, and the Kursk operation. We have come a long way.

[00:00:59]>> Fact.

[00:01:02]>> The questions over Syrskyi's future came to the fore last week when Zelenskyy removed the highly popular defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, just 6 months after having appointed him. The move triggered 5-day-long protests as thousands in fact showed up in the capital city of Kyiv beating makeshift cardboard signs and also singing the Ukrainian national anthem.

[00:01:29]Now, reacting to the removal of Syrskyi, the former defense minister Fedorov has said that the change of guard will bring new hope in the struggle of the free people for freedom and justice. He's further added that it will deliver a clear vision to win the war, enabling to move swiftly and also to correct the previous mistakes.

[00:01:47]And amidst these developments, the war continues to rage on as both sides have exchanged drone and missile strikes.

[00:01:54]And Kyiv's a forces commander has said that the Ukrainian drones in fact hit 13 Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the past 48 hours.

[00:02:04]Now, Ukraine's outgoing commander-in-chief has claimed to have recaptured nearly about 700 square kilometers of territory, while Russia's defense ministry has said that its forces attacked Ukrainian ports, striking two vessels.

[00:02:18]Meanwhile, a new statement by the United Nations has said that civilian casualties rose by as much as 37% in the first half of this year amidst the raging war between Russia and Ukraine.

[00:02:29]Now, the head of the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, Danielle Lebel, has told the reporters in Geneva that the unit documented nearly about 1,400 civilian fatalities and about 8,000 injuries.

[00:02:42]Lebel said that the escalation was in part being driven by increasing use of long-range ballistic missiles and drones impacting the densely populated urban areas far from the front lines.

[00:02:56]Now, both Russia and Ukraine, who deny targeting civilians, in fact stepped up their daily strikes on each other as the US-led talks on ending the conflict remain stalled.

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