Syrskyi apologizes to Fedorov as protests intensify | Ukraine Brief

[00:00:00]Hello, I'm Hashim Kumar, and welcome to Ukraine Brief live from Warsaw.

[00:00:06]Today marks 1,609 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

[00:00:14]Here's the latest.

[00:00:17]Russian attacks across Ukraine over the last day have continued to devastate civilian areas with at least 10 people confirmed dead.

[00:00:29]A large airstrike was carried out against the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday with guided aerial bombs and dropped on residential neighborhoods. At least two people were killed and nine injured while apartment blocks were set ablaze.

[00:00:46]Russian forces have continued their assaults against the northern city of Sumy and the region with nearly a dozen people injured. The shelling of a shopping center caused a major fire to break out while a drone attack on a multi-story apartment building was also reported.

[00:01:06]In Chernihiv, a government office suffered significant damage after it was struck by Russian forces.

[00:01:14]According to authorities, an elderly woman was injured from the blast.

[00:01:19]Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian strikes claimed the lives of nine more people and injured 80 over the last day.

[00:01:31]Widespread protests have continued across Ukraine calling for the removal of Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

[00:01:43]In a bid to ease tensions, Syrskyi issued a public apology on Monday to the country's recently ousted defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

[00:01:54]The pair's long-standing rivalry is seen as a key reason behind President Zelenskyy's decision to remove Fedorov from government.

[00:02:06]Syrskyi denied any personal rift with Fedorov while urging Ukrainians not to let themselves be divided by choosing sides in the conflict around military leaders. But, the army chief still defended his record saying that war strategy remains outside the defense ministry's authority, while also pointing to seemingly unsuccessful contract reforms introduced by Fedorov.

[00:02:36]These statements come as President Zelenskyy reportedly weighs Syrskyi's dismissal.

[00:02:42]Sources cited by Bloomberg say joint forces chief Mykhailo Drapatyi is now the leading candidate for the job.

[00:02:55]Ukrainian forces have struck a MiG-29 fighter jet and an air defense system in Russia's Kursk region with industrial facilities also reportedly hit.

[00:03:09]Kyiv released footage of the attack on the MiG jet and the Pantsir S1 system, reportedly valued at nearly $25 million and $20 million respectively.

[00:03:22]This comes amid reports that the Russia's largest steel producer was targeted overnight, located some 400 km from the Ukrainian border in the city of Lipetsk.

[00:03:36]The facility accounts for nearly 20% of the country's entire steel output, while also supporting weapons production.

[00:03:46]Fires were also reported around a nearby thermal power plant.

[00:03:57]Shock to residents of Zaporizhzhia, say air alerts alerts have become a near daily reality following Russia's latest bombardment.

[00:04:09]>> This is already the third strike in the past 2 days. There were two strikes on Sunday. We hadn't even managed to board up the windows or recover from everything that happened, and now this again. I was lucky I wasn't at home.

[00:04:23]>> Everything inside our apartment was thrown around. The balcony was blown out. All the windows were shattered. We had plastic windows and every single one of them fell out. The flames are terrifying and there's thick smoke throughout the stairwells. The firefighters are still trying to put the fire out. What can I even say? People are crying. Everyone is wounded. It's impossible to describe this horror.

[00:04:47]>> And that brings us to the end of this bulletin of Ukraine brief. Don't go away. Lots more coming up. Goodbye.