Recently, rumors about the possible resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, have intensified in the media. During the presentation of the sociological study “Socio-Political Attitudes of Ukrainians (December 2024)” conducted by Active Group, it was noted that despite the ambiguous public assessment of his activities, it was under Syrskyi’s leadership that the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted the most successful operation since the beginning of 2023.
“The Kursk operation is the best thing the Armed Forces have done since the beginning of 2023. Prior to that, the Kharkiv operation, the liberation of Kyiv region were also carried out not without his (Syrsky’s – ed.) participation,” – said Yuriy Goncharenko, head of the InfoLight.UA Research and Analysis Group, during the presentation of the research results at Interfax-Ukraine.
According to available information, during the Kursk operation, which began on August 6, 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed the border near the town of Sudzha and took control of significant territories. At the same time, the ratio of losses was approximately 20 to 1 in favor of the Armed Forces.
Experts also emphasize that Syrsky’s possible resignation in the current circumstances is unlikely to increase the resilience of Ukrainian defense. Especially given that the events in Syria indicate that Russia is concentrating all available resources on the war against Ukraine.
At the same time, during the presentation of the study, it was noted that the level of public trust in the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi remains the highest among the military leadership – 70.9%, despite the fact that 2023, when he had “the best resource, Western support, motivated soldiers, and a certain demoralization of the enemy,” did not bring the expected success.
Experts believe that rumors of General Syrsky’s possible dismissal may be part of an information campaign aimed at undermining confidence in the Ukrainian military leadership at a critical time.
