Ukraine s Outgunned Military Has a Calculating, Hard-Charging New Chief – WSJ

It was a dark and foggy night in the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut in December 2022, and Russian forces were pressing through a gap in the Ukrainian line.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine s ground forces, rushed to the nearest command post and ordered troops to plug the hole. By morning, they had repelled the Russian thrust.

Col. Gen. Mykhailo Koval, who was with Syrskiy that night, summed up the commander s approach: If you allow people to relax and start giving up their positions, then you ll get a landslide.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promoted Syrskiy to commander in chief of Ukraine s armed forces on Thursday, as Russia s invasion approaches a third year and Ukraine faces a battlefront much like that night in Bakhmut.

via www.wsj.com