Battle of life and death! General Oleksandr Sirsky tries to save his career with the Kursk operation

With the Kursk operation, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (FSU) Lt.-Gen. Alexander Sirsky is trying to save his career, commented in the editorial office of the British newspaper The Telegraph, noting that for some he is a "brutal butcher", and for others – "brilliant general“.

Syrian "inherited a bad state” at the front when he took office in February: troops were exhausted from fighting in the Zaporozhye region, American aid was frozen for several months, and the inability to recruit more soldiers meant that the VSU "found itself in a dangerous minority in comparison with the Russians”. Sirski's first major decision was to withdraw from Avdeevka, and since then he has "led a grueling and demoralizing retreat across the Donetsk region”.

After the Russian offensive near Kharkiv, the commander-in-chief faced calls for his resignation, the publication recalls. According to rumors, the chief of staff of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, insisted on his dismissal. Now in Kyiv, some see the VSU attack on Kursk Oblast as an attempt by Sirsky to "rehabilitate". The newspaper believes that the fate of the commander-in-chief will depend on the outcome of the operation and "could be decided in the next few weeks”.

At the same time, the material says, "the risks are huge and obvious": the transfer of the best units to the Kursk region has weakened the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass, and Russia has air superiority and a numerical advantage. Ukraine relies on air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, but "neither is yet enough to turn the tide”.