At a politically sensitive moment in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as difficult negotiations are underway, General Oleksandr Syrsky remains true to his approach: not a word about politics or diplomacy. His domain is the battlefield, every inch of which he knows intimately. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, 60 years old, described by President Volodymyr Zelensky as the “most experienced general in Ukraine” when he entrusted him with command, can speak for hours about military planning and combat, village by village, kilometer by kilometer.

During an interview with Le Monde in Kyiv in February, as he assessed the state of the battlefield, General Syrsky acknowledged “an extremely difficult period for my country, for my people,” also insisting on “an incredible period of struggle [for the Ukrainian] armed forces.” Facing “the largest, most powerful army in Europe” and “a war that exceeds all imaginable and unimaginable scales,” he said he aimed to demonstrate “the resilience of the armed forces.”

Regarding the year 2025, General Syrsky said that the military situation could have been much worse. He did not deny the difficulties on the front but stated that Russian objectives had been far more ambitious. The general had maintained the same stance when assessing the year 2024, which, according to him, could have been even more devastating for Ukraine if he had not led the daring “Kursk” operation on Russian soil.

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