February 13, 2025
Syrsky said that his staff sees better training of combat leaders as a top priority, along with individual soldier skills and massed recruitment and training of tactical drone pilots.

Zelensky’s Top General Syrsky Admits Ukraine’s Army Faces Challenges – But Says Fixes Are Coming

Ukraine is working on its version of the US Patriot missile and Russia can expect battle “surprises” in the future, the Ukrainian army’s highest-ranking officer said

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has real and serious manpower and organization problems but it is an increasingly lethal organization that is hitting the Russian army with critical losses, and is on track to improve combat efficiency in the future, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Syrsky, the Ukrainian military’s senior officer, told media on Sunday.

Speaking to the major television broadcaster TSN, Syrsky admitted some AFU formations need better commanders, that manpower shortages across the forces are real, and that controversial transfers of technicians from rear area units to frontline duties are ongoing and will continue.

“Unfortunately, mobilization capabilities do not cover the need,” Syrsky said. “Therefore, we are taking measures to reduce our logistics component, the support component, the component engaged in maintenance, within reasonable limits.”

Technicians with critical skills will not be transferred into frontline jobs like infantrymen or combat medics, Syrsky promised.

Since taking over the AFU’s top command slot in February 2023, Syrsky has kept a low public profile and preferred infrequent, and tightly controlled appearances at field headquarters or at medal awarding ceremonies, to question-and-answer sessions with potentially hostile media.

The TSN interview lasting 69 minutes came in the wake of weeks of negative reports about – allegedly – poor personnel policy, overwhelming red tape, and failure to learn from past mistakes by AFU top leadership.

Public accusations by military media, MPs, retired general officers and across Ukraine’s giant milblogger community came to a head in early January when Syrsky’s staff – grudgingly – admitted that a high-profile combat brigade armed and trained by France had been broken up upon return to Ukraine and thrown into battle with insufficient equipment and serious ammunition shortages.

Among other topics, Syrsky offered details about his first combat experiences during Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine, his command during the decisive February-Marhc 2022 Battle of Kyiv, Ukraine’s highly-successful September 2022 Kharkiv counter-offensive, the AFU’s strategy of trading ground for maximum Russian casualties, and on controversial army personnel policies.

Syrsky confirmed that the Ukrainian military will end a long-criticized policy – which he said pre-dated his coming to command – of forming new fighting units at the expense of reinforcing existing ones, and argued Ukraine is on track to field better-armed, better-trained combat brigades and battalions.

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See Also:

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Kyiv Charges Generals for Failure to Defend Kharkiv Region During Russia’s 2024 Offensive

UK Considers Military Bases in Ukraine as Part of New Partnership Deal

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