"Він вважав, що краще знає наші потреби": Сирський explained the causes of disputes with Fedorov

The former commander-in-chief of ЗСУ Олександр Сирський spoke about the differences with the ex-defense minister Михайлом Федоровим, which concerned the financing of the army and the purchase of weapons. According to Sirsky, in particular, it was about priorities when purchasing drones and providing the military with other necessary means

Сирський said this in an interview with BBC.

What caused the differences between Fedorov and Sirsky?

Сирський denied that there was a full-fledged conflict between him and Fedorov. At the same time, he admitted that they had different views on financing the needs of the troops and acquiring the necessary weapons.

"Як такого у нас конфлікту не було. Були протиріччя щодо фінансування потреб армії і закупівлі, відповідно, того озброєння та боєприпасів, які потрібні збройним силам", explained by ex-head.

According to him, the General Staff determines the needs of the army on the basis of applications from military units. When planning funding, these requests should be agreed to determine which weapons should be purchased for ЗСУ.

Сирський claims that the problem was the approach to procurement. According to him, the Ministry of Defense preferred certain types of weapons, primarily drones, while the needs that determined the General Staff were not always taken into account.

"Ті зразки озброєння, які мають певні характеристики. Так от, проблема була в тому, що якраз міністр оборони проводив закупівлю певних видів озброєння, в першу чергу дронів, і віддавав перевагу певним видом цих дронів, ігноруючи потреби армії, які надавались Генеральним штабом", stated Сирський.

In his opinion, this caused an imbalance between the volume of purchases, the real needs of the military and the supply of equipment to the front. This was especially true of ground-based robotic platforms.

Answering the journalist’s clarifying question about the need for so much equipment, Сирський noted that at first it was not funded at all.

He also gave an example with long-range ammunition for artillery. According to the ex-head of the army received only 5-6% of the required volume.

"Ми постачали п'ять-шість відсотків, це стосувалось далекобійних боєприпасів, наприклад для артилерії. Тобто от в цьому була проблема. Звичайно це питання розглядалося на ставках, от в чому у нас були непорозуміння", said Сирський.

Сирський explained what should be the funding of the needs of the army

The ex-head emphasized that the military budget distributes the General Staff, and the relevant structures agree on it. In his opinion, while providing the front, it is important to fund all needs in a balanced manner, and not to focus resources only on certain types of weapons.

As an example, he cited the purchase of drones, ground robotic complexes, pickups, motorcycles, quad bikes and bogies. According to Sirsky, the financing of these areas should take place simultaneously, in accordance with the needs of the army.

"Тобто, наприклад, дрони не проплачуються на весь рік, а проплачується все синхронно, те, що необхідно військам, ті ж НРК, ті ж пікапи, ті ж мотоцикли, квадроцикли, баггі, тобто все те, що необхідно на війні, ті ж БПЛА, ударні дрони відповідні. А він робив такий перекіс, тобто він вважав, що він краще знає наші потреби, що можна не звертати уваги на наші потреби, і він фінансував, наприклад, дрони на весь рік. А закупка, наприклад, тих же НРК або інших зазначених видів, вона не проводилась, і виходив дефіцит", stated Сирський.

In addition, the ex-head drew attention to the delays in financing, which, according to him, subsequently affected the production of certain types of weapons, in particular drones.

"З дронами теж не все гаразд було, вони ж теж на 100% не поставлялися, а тільки наполовину. От суть проблеми була – не враховувалися інтереси військ, от конфліктна ситуація в чому була",' summed up Сирський.

Звільнення Сирського and what preceded it

22 July President Володимир Зеленський announced the dismissal of Олександра Сирського from the post of Commander-in-Chief of ЗСУ and the appointment of Major General Михайла Драпатого. Сирський led the Ukrainian army with February 2024 when he changed to Валерія Залужного.

The decision was preceded by public disagreements between Sirsky and the then Minister of Defense Михайлом Федоровим. 16 July Fedorov said that there were contradictions between him and the commander-in-chief, in particular, regarding the work of the Ministry of Defense and changes in the military.

He also spoke about attempts to achieve personnel decisions regarding the military leadership. Зеленський confirmed that there were problems with the interaction between the officials.

Against the background of these events, protests began in Kiev and other cities of Ukraine. Participants demanded the return of Fedorov to the post of Minister of Defense, and later, among their demands, the release of Sirsky appeared. After the announcement of the change of the commander-in-chief, the protesters continued the protests, insisting on Fedorov's return.