General Oleksandr Syrsky, commander in chief of the Ukrainian army, at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on February 7, 2026. VIRGINIE NGUYEN HOANG/HL/HUMA FOR LE MONDE 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 …