Ukrainian soldiers criticise removal of popular defence minister

In the eyes of some soldiers who responded to our requests, the leading “fossil” is General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the tough 60-year-old commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.

The name of General Syrskyi, who was hailed as a national hero four years ago and successfully defended Kiev in the weeks following an all-out invasion of Russia, has since become associated with an outdated method of warfare that places little value on human life.

“Syrskyi has no authority or respect,” Andriy told us. “For us it remains General 200”; this is a derogatory nickname referring to the Soviet military casualty law.

Others just call him “The Butcher”.

To be fair, not everyone in the military has such a pessimistic view of their leaders.

“There is no one to replace Syrskyi in the army right now,” said Andrii, a former front-line soldier who now works in the General Staff.

“Yes, he is Soviet-minded and graduated from a military school in Russia, but we do not have another military commander of this caliber. He carried out all the successful operations of this war.”

One thing is clear: When President Zelensky made his move this week, Mykhailo Fedorov and General Syrskyi were clearly at odds.

Announcing his decision not to reappoint Fedorov, Zelensky said that the two men could not even be in the same room, while the dismissed minister accused the general of blocking all reforms.

“It just snowballed,” Andrii told us. “Everyone knew this. Zelensky had to make a decision.”

With their 25-year age difference (Fedorov is 35), the two men at the center of this explosive debate represent very different versions of Ukraine.

“Fedorov is an iPhone 16, Syrskyi is a phone from the 1980s,” military analyst and former intelligence officer Ivan Stupak told me.

“You know, same goal but with different approaches.”