This is how “snow leopard” Syrskyj works: Kiev’s new army chief has Russian roots

This is how “Snow Leopard” Syrskyj works
Kiev’s new army chief has Russian roots

February 8, 2024, 8:13 p.m

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Colonel General Syrskyj earned his laurels with the defense of Kiev and the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Now the top military takes over command of the Ukrainian army. The 58-year-old gives his subordinates a lot of freedom to make decisions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has announced a change in the army leadership after the failed counteroffensive in the summer of 2023. Valeriy Zalushnyj resigns from his post as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The new army chief will be Colonel General Olexsandr Syrskyj, one of Ukraine’s most successful commanders.

Syrskyj was born in July 1965 in the Vladimir region of what is now central Russia, then part of the Soviet Union. He has lived in Ukraine – then one of the Soviet republics – since the 1980s. He studied at the Army College in Moscow, as did many of his peers who are now commanders in the Russian army. Syrskyi graduated in 1986 and entered the Soviet Artillery Corps.

In 2019, Syrskyj became commander of the Ukrainian land forces. Previously, he commanded Ukrainian troops fighting Russian-controlled separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. There he was given the battle name “Snow Leopard”.

Only 4.5 hours of sleep every night

Syrskyj, who is said to have good connections in the presidential office, was responsible for some of the greatest successes against the Russian army in the current war. He organized the successful defense of the capital Kiev in the first months and was named “Hero of Ukraine” in April 2022, the highest honor for a military man. In the summer of 2022, he launched the successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, in which Ukraine surprised the Russians and liberated large parts of the occupied territories.

In early 2023, Syrskyi took over the defense of the city of Bakhmut, where thousands of soldiers fell on both sides. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the war up to that point. Some military analysts questioned whether defending such a bombed city justified killing or wounding so many people. Syrskyj replied that the tough resistance had weakened Russia’s fighting strength and tied down the Wagner mercenary force for a long time. As a result, the image of a “cannon fodder general” emerged in parts of Ukrainian society.

Syrskyj has a reputation for being particularly concerned about the morale of his troops. He is often seen visiting the front. Unlike what is usual in the Russian army, Syrskyj grants his subordinates maximum freedom of choice when it comes to tactical questions. In interviews, he said he only sleeps four and a half hours every night and relaxes in the gym. The 58-year-old is married and has two sons.