President’s Office publishes decree on Syrskyi’s appointment

To appoint Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the reads the document published on the president’s website.

Oleksandr Syrskyi was the Chief of Staff of the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. In particular, he was one of the chief commanders of the ATO forces during the battle for Debaltseve in the winter of 2015. He coordinated the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from Debaltseve. The "Bars" group formed by Syrskyi covered the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the city.

By another decree, Syrskyi was dismissed from the post of commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

For the battles at the Debaltseve bridgehead, Oleksandr Syrskyi was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, III class, and later received the rank of lieutenant general.

In 2016, he headed the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which coordinated the operational actions of various Ukrainian security forces in Donbas. In 2017, he was the commander of the entire Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine, which was later replaced by the Joint Forces Operation.

From May 6 to August 5, 2019, he was the Commander of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since August 5, 2019, he had been the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Syrskyi led the defense of Kyiv, and later he was one of the commanders of the AFU counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi on February 8 and thanked him for two years of defense of Ukraine.