President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered the dismissal of Oleksandr Syrskyi from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi to the position, following days of protests sparked by the removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov just days earlier. Fedorov, 35, was praised for modernising the military and fighting corruption, while Syrskyi, 60, was criticised for clinging to Soviet-era thinking and resisting reform. Drapatyi, 43, is a popular general with a modern image, and he stated he would carry out his duties with full responsibility. Zelenskyy thanked Syrskyi for his role in the defence of Kyiv in 2022 and revealed that he had offered Fedorov a senior executive position, though acceptance has not yet been confirmed. Meanwhile, Yevhenii Khmara, a former senior official of the Security Service of Ukraine, remains acting defence minister and has been tasked with working alongside Drapatyi to draft a new national defence strategy.