The new head of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, is known as “the butcher” by his own troops, and there are fears his aggressive style will lead to massive losses for Ukrainians in the east on top of already high casualties.
While President Zelensky claims that Ukraine has suffered only 31, 000 soldier deaths, most analysts, and those in Ukraine, know that number is far from reality. In fact, Ukraine’s ally, the United States, estimates that Ukraine had lost 70,000 men already last summer, on top of many more severely wounded or psychologically traumatized. The number of missing also remains high.
In a new interview with Politico, one soldier who wished to remain anonymous warned about the 58-year-old Syrskyi, saying: “He will kill us all.”
Politico reports that Ukrainian troops reportedly refer to the new commander of Ukraine’s ground forces as someone willing to put his troops in harm’s way to achieve his goals. Syrskyi, who was born in central Russia, is known for his “hard-driving Soviet-style” tactics.