President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, dismissing the former commander of the Armed Forces V. Zaluzhnu explained this with the need for a different approach to problems related to rotation, front management, mobilization and recruitment. That approach should be implemented by the 58-year-old Colonel-General Oleksandr Sirsky, who before the appointment was in charge of the ground forces of Ukraine.
The first step is the defense of Avdeevka, where the Russian forces have accumulated significant human and technical resources, attacking from the north and south. The second is the new mobilization and replenishment of the Ukrainian army.
What is known about Sirski?
Sirsky is 58 years old, born in the village of Novinki, Vladimir Marz, SFSR, Russia. His father is also a soldier. In 1986, Sirsky graduated from the Higher Combined Forces Command School in Moscow, which was graduated at the same time by Alexander Dvornikov and Joint Forces Commander Sergey Naev. He continued his education in the 1990s-2000s at the Ukrainian National Defense Academy in Kyiv.
In 2013, he held the position of the first deputy head of the main command center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His area of responsibility was cooperation with NATO. In February 2015, the “Bars” group formed by Sirsky protected the troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine retreating from Debaltsevo. At that time, about 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers under his command faced almost 20,000 Russians.
In 2016, Sirsky headed the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in 2017 he led the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. In 2019, Sirsky became the commander of the ground troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In an interview with the BBC in July 2023, he expressed modestly about the possibility of Ukraine’s imminent victory. “We would like to get results very quickly. But in reality it is almost impossible.”
It is Sirsky in 2022. to organize the defense of Kiev in February-March. For the successful defense of Kyiv and the liberation of the north, on March 18, 2022 Sirsky was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnytsky II degree. And three more weeks later, Hero of Ukraine for “personal courage, significant contribution to the defense of Ukraine’s state sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Sirsky led the defense of Kharkiv region, the resistance of the city and the expulsion of Russian troops from Kharkiv region. It was the heavy defense in the direction of Bakhmut that introduced Sirski as a commander who did not consider the loss of life. Western mass media have repeatedly written that the defense of Bakhmut cost Ukraine more harm than good.
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