Ukrainian President Zelensky Sacks Oleksandr Syrsky After Protests | WION News

[00:00:00]Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, amid an ongoing political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular defense minister. The Ukrainian leader appointed joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapatyi in his place. 60-year-old Syrskyi was serving the position since 2024 and was among Kyiv's most experienced commanders. He led the defense of Kyiv at the start of the Russian Russian attack in 2022 as commander of the Ukrainian ground forces. Syrskyi had replaced the highly popular General Valerii Zaluzhnyi as commander-in-chief in February 2024.

[00:00:43]>> leadership Shonovyi >> I have decided that the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapatyi. 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.

[00:01:01]>> But >> Questions over Syrskyi's future came to the fore last week when Zelenskyy removed highly popular defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov just 6 months after appointing him. The move triggered 5-day-long protests as thousands showed up in capital Kyiv beating makeshift cardboard signs and singing the Ukrainian national anthem. Reaction to the removal of Syrskyi, former defense minister Fedorov, said that the change of guard will bring new hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice. He added that it would deliver a clear vision to win the war, enabling to move swiftly and correct mistakes.

[00:01:40]Amid these developments, the war continues to rage on as both sides exchange drone and missile strikes.

[00:01:46]Kyiv's drone forces commander said that Ukrainian drones hit 13 Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the past 48 hours. Ukraine's outgoing commander-in-chief has claimed to have recaptured 700 square kilometers of territory while Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces attacked Ukrainian ports, striking two vessels. Meanwhile, a new statement by the United Nations says that civilian casualties rose 37% in the first half of this year amid the raging war between Russia and Ukraine.

[00:02:17]Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Lou Blue, told reporters in Geneva that the unit documented nearly 1,400 civilian fatalities and about 8,000 injuries.

[00:02:39]The commissioner said that the escalation was part was in part being driven by increasing use of long-range ballistic missiles and drones impacting densely populated urban areas far from the front lines. Both Russia and Ukraine, who deny targeting civilians, have stepped up daily strikes on each other as US-led talks on ending the conflict remains stalled.

[00:03:04]>> No, there have been no contacts through our channel in recent days. Contacts through the ministries of foreign affairs and diplomatic channels are of course largely of a technical nature, but if there were to be contact at the level of foreign ministers, we would certainly welcome it.