Revealing 2 'terrifying' nicknames of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
(Baonghean.vn) - Politico (USA) reported that Ukrainian soldiers have given the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, nicknames such as "butcher" and "general 200", because of the losses the army suffered under his command.
On February 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Commander-in-Chief of the Army Valery Zaluzhny and appointed Army Commander General Oleksandr Syrsky to replace him.
"Ukrainian servicemen gave General Syrsky a terrible nickname: 'the butcher'," Politico quoted a captain of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Politico added that, according to another source, the new Commander-in-Chief is also known as "General 200", because of the number of soldiers who died under Syrsky's command.
According to assessments within the Ukrainian military, the appointment of General Syrsky to the position of Commander-in-Chief was "a very bad decision", because he was considered "a commander who put his subordinates in danger on the battlefield".
While in charge of ground forces during the 10-month battle for the Bakhmut “meat grinder” in 2022-2023, General Syrsky made decisions that resulted in heavy casualties, even unit-wide casualties, among some of Ukraine’s most experienced brigades.
Many Ukrainian analysts and soldiers believe that General Syrsky's tactical thinking is based on military knowledge learned in the Soviet Union. Therefore, they believe that the decision to appoint him as Commander-in-Chief will hardly bring the new approach that President Volodymyr Zelensky expected when replacing General Valery Zaluzhny.
Still, General Syrsky has been credited with several military achievements since the conflict with Russia began, such as pushing Russian forces back from the area around Kiev in March 2022.
