The chief of defense in Ukraine resigns after large demonstrations

A fight over the culture of the Ukrainian armed forces cost the top leader his job. Thus the protesters got their way. A visible cultural shift in the Ukrainian armed forces.

President Zelenskyi on Tuesday replaced one general and replaced him with another. Now the reformist Mykhajlo Drapatyj takes over from Oleksandr Syrskyj as defense chief. Behind what is happening in Ukraine now, there is a complicated story.

Central is the former Minister of Defense Mykhajlo Fedorov. He was fired earlier this month. It led to protests in Ukraine.

The demonstrators have had two demands: One demand has thus been fulfilled. It is seen as a victory for the people of Ukraine. General Syrskyi, who has thus been fired, was born in Russia and received his first military education in Moscow.

He served in Afghanistan, among other places. He ended up in the Ukrainian defense when the Soviet Union disintegrated. The department for Syrskyj was then in Ukraine, and was therefore transferred there.

Syrskyj is seen as a standard bearer of Russian military culture. It is top heavy. Personal initiative is not looked upon kindly.

While Mykhajlo Drapatyj, who is the new chief of defense, has shown throughout his military career how important it can be for leaders lower down the hierarchy to show personal initiative. He definitely did that when, as a major in Mariupol in 2014, he was assigned to free hostages. He understood that things had to happen quickly.

He literally drove on. Drapatyj is in command. He sits in the first armored car that breaks through the barricades.

Drapatyj was the commander of the Ukrainian army in 2025. Then he resigned. The trigger was a Russian attack on a training camp, where many lost their lives. He took personal responsibility for the fade, but gave some background for the drastic step.: Drapatyj believes it is necessary to create a culture where leaders take personal responsibility, and who learn from mistakes made on the battlefield.

He believes it is necessary to win. This culture is strong in NATO countries. That, and what is called mission-based management.

In that form of management, personal initiative is strong. It is also a culture that deposed Defense Minister Fedorov was a supporter of. Mykhajlo Drapatyj takes over.

He believes the war must be waged through technology that hits the enemy and saves Ukrainian lives. It has been a chaotic political week in Ukraine. Criticism has been hurled at President Zelenskyj after he fired Defense Minister Fedorov.

It has boiled over in social media. The 35-year-old deposed minister has received much of the credit for the fact that Ukraine has managed to fight back in the war against Russia in recent months. He can return as defense minister Mykhajlo Fedorov is at the center of the dispute.

During the half year he served as defense minister, he got Elon Musk, among other things, to shut down the important Starlink satellite system for Russian forces. He was also well underway in cracking down on corruption in the Defense Department. He has also worked hard to change the system that gets new soldiers into the armed forces.

But Defense Minister Fedorov did not get along with Defense Chief Syrskyj. He has been nicknamed the Butcher, for his alleged willingness to send Ukrainian soldiers to their deaths.