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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his top general Tuesday, ousting commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi after six straight days of protests demanding Syrskyi’s removal.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: The protests started last week when Zelensky abruptly dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a wildly popular 35-year-old who had spent six months in the job pushing drone innovation and data-driven reform. He made his name as digital transformation minister, building the volunteer IT Army of Ukraine and the Army of Drones fundraising campaign. Fedorov had publicly accused Syrskyi of blocking his reforms and clinging to outdated tactics, and Zelensky cited the unworkable rift between the two men when he let Fedorov go. Protesters read that as the president siding with the military old guard over a reformer, and thousands poured into the streets in Kyiv and other cities. Syrskyi, 60, had run the armed forces since February 2024 and was seen by many Ukrainians as a Soviet-school commander, and inside the ranks he had earned the nickname “Butcher.”

What’s going on now: Zelensky replaced Syrskyi with Mykhailo Drapatyi, a 43-year-old general, announcing the move on social media after a series of meetings with military commanders.

“Our shared wish is one — victory over the enemy and conditions at the front and in pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” Zelensky said, crediting Syrskyi with holding Kyiv and running the defense of Kharkiv.

Drapatyi comes in with credibility on both defense and offense. His troops held the line outside Kryvyi Rih in 2024, clawed back ground in Kherson, and shut down a second Russian push into Kharkiv before it got moving.

This all comes as Zelensky met with Fedorov separately Tuesday and offered him what the president called a worthy position that would unify the country’s technology sector, though it is not clear whether he accepted.

Fedorov did not mention the offer in his statement, instead congratulating Drapatyi and calling the appointment “new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice.”