Ukraine's Booted Top General: Army Retook 270 Square Miles

Ukraine's top general is exiting with a parting scorecard—270 square miles retaken from Russia this year. Outgoing Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Wednesday confirmed his departure and said he leaves behind an army that's both holding the line and pushing forward, citing gains in Ukraine's northeast and operations in Russia's Kursk region, reports NBC News. President Volodymyr Zelensky has tapped 43-year-old Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi to replace Syrskyi after multiple days of public demonstrations and a broader shake-up in the defense establishment.

Syrskyi, who helped defend Kyiv and spearheaded the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive, has recently come under fire from some troops for what they describe as inflexible tactics and heavy losses, underscoring tensions within Ukraine's wartime leadership. The AP describes Syrskyi as "a 60-year-old veteran trained in the Soviet Union before Ukraine's independence," while Drapatyi is said to belong "to a new generation of Ukrainian generals who have come up through the ranks during the battle against Russian aggression." The New York Times calls it the "end of an era," noting that Syrskyi's departure came after clashes with Ukraine's now-fired defense chief, Mykhailo Fedorov.