Who is Alexander Syrsky: what is known about the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Ukrainian army was led by one of the most experienced officers Ukraine has today.

Today, President Vladimir Zelensky replaced the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Instead of Valery Zaluzhny, this position was given to Alexander Syrsky , a general who over the past two years has become no less famous than his predecessor in office.

early years

Alexander Syrsky was born on July 26, 1965 in the village of Novinki, Kirzhatsky district, Vladimir region of the then RSFSR. However, already at the age of 15 he moved to Ukraine, where he lives to this day.

Back in Soviet times, Syrsky graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School. In 1986, he began his military career as a commander of a motorized rifle platoon in the Soviet army.

Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine

With the collapse of the USSR, Syrsky remained in Ukraine and continued his military service in the now Ukrainian army. Since 1993, he commanded a motorized rifle battalion of the 6th division of the National Guard of Ukraine in Chuguev in the Kharkov region, then was the commander of a regiment of this division. Since the 2000s, he commanded the 72nd mechanized brigade, stationed in Bila Tserkva. He rose to the rank of major general.

In 1996 he graduated with honors from the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in 2005 from the National Defense Academy of Ukraine with a gold medal. After this, he began to be involved in the work of the main command center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where he received the position of deputy head. There, Syrsky was involved in the process of transition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the standards of NATO countries.

Service in ATO/JFO

At the beginning of the Russian hybrid invasion of Ukraine, Syrsky was appointed chief of staff of the ATO in Donbass. In particular, he was one of the main commanders of Ukrainian forces in the Battle of Debaltseve in the winter of 2015. He was also involved in the control of Ukrainian troops in the battles for Uglegorsk, the village of Redkodub and Logvinovo.

For the battles on the Debaltseve bridgehead, Alexander Syrsky received the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, III degree, and subsequently the rank of lieutenant general.

In 2016, he headed the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which coordinated the actions of Ukrainian forces in Donbass. In 2017, Syrsky was appointed commander of the entire Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine, which was subsequently transformed into the Joint Forces Operation (JFO).

In May-August 2019, Syrsky commanded the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and from August 5, 2019, he was appointed commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He retained this position until February 8, 2024.

In August 2020, he received a new rank – Colonel General.

Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine

From the first days of a full-scale war, Syrsky commanded the defense of Kyiv. Under his leadership, two defense rings were created around Kyiv, and he appointed commanders of defense sectors. It was by his decision that a number of bridges and dams around the capital were blown up, which in those conditions made it impossible for the Russian offensive and the penetration of invaders directly into Kyiv.

For the successful defense of the capital and the subsequent liberation of the northern regions of Ukraine, on March 18, 2022, Syrsky received the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, II degree, and on April 5, 2022, he received the highest state award – Hero of Ukraine.

After that, he was one of the commanders of the Ukrainian forces, which during the summer first pushed the Russians back from Kharkov, and in September carried out a lightning-fast counter-offensive in the Kharkov region, as a result of which the occupation forces were thrown back to approximately the same lines where the fighting is taking place today.

In the period from the autumn of 2022 to the end of the spring of 2023, Syrsky led the defense of the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut. In heavy battles, the Ukrainian army was able to inflict heavy losses on the superior forces of the invaders, and the so-called “PMC Wagner” was virtually destroyed as a significant fighting force.

Since the summer of 2023, Alexander Syrsky has commanded Ukrainian troops holding defenses in the northeastern sector of the front, primarily near Kupyansk.