Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi responded on his Telegram channel to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had accused him of political intrigue.
On the morning of July 16, Fedorov held a briefing and spoke about his conflict with Syrskyi. According to the former defense minister, he had proposed that Ukraine’s president dismiss Syrskyi as well as Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused.
In response, Syrskyi recalled that it was he who led Kyiv’s defense in 2022. He said that this was why briefings could now be held in the Ukrainian capital, approaches could be shaped, and decisions could be made there.
“And now briefings can be held in this city, visions can be formed, decisions can be made,” Syrskyi wrote. He added that he would do everything possible to ensure such events could continue to take place in a free and independent Ukraine.
The commander-in-chief also said that the country now needed to focus on the war and on an effective strategy that, in his view, was already producing concrete results.
Syrskyi also thanked Fedorov for his work as defense minister and said he hoped the former minister would continue to remain “part of Ukraine’s team.”
Earlier the same day, Zelenskyy acknowledged that there had indeed been a conflict between the commander-in-chief and the defense minister, and said Fedorov’s dismissal was connected to it.