The Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces spoke out in defence of Syrsk against the backdrop of the protests
“At a time when Ukraine is fighting the toughest war for its independence, certain attempts to undermine confidence in the military leadership and to stir up internal conflicts surrounding the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine appear particularly dangerous,” — reads a statement by Plakhuta, published on the Territorial Defence Forces’ Facebook page.
The Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces called on military personnel to “stay out of politics” and “not to succumb to provocations aimed at fuelling internal conflicts within the armed forces”.
“Criticism of decisions during wartime is possible and natural in our democratic society; however, turning such criticism into a campaign of personal vilification against the Commander-in-Chief during the active phase of the war is irresponsible and plays into the enemy’s hands. Russian propaganda is systematically attempting to sow mistrust between the public, the military and the command,” Plakhuta stated.
He listed the “most fundamental traits” of Syrskyi, which, in his words, are “absolute rigour, first and foremost towards himself, tremendous work ethic when there are only a few hours left for sleep, and the ability to make split-second decisions in the most critical situations”.
The Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces stated that, for Syrskyi, every observation post, every platoon strongpoint and every section of the front line is “not merely marks on a map, but a real-life picture of combat operations”.
“He (Oleksandr Syrskyi — ed.) pays extraordinary attention to developing the capabilities of the Territorial Defence Forces, something our international partners openly acknowledge. The large-scale introduction of unmanned systems into the combat brigades of the Territorial Defence Forces, along with the latest technologies and innovations, is also the result of the work of the team he leads,” Plakhuta noted.
He also expressed “unwavering support for the state’s senior leadership, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the policy of strengthening defence capabilities, technological development and improving the effectiveness of troop command and control”, and called on the military to focus on carrying out their duties and “not to succumb to information manipulation”.
‘Cardboard protests’: what is known
As a reminder, on 19 July in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk, Cherkasy, Mukachevo, Chernivtsi, Uzhhorod and other cities across Ukraine, protesters gathered for the fourth time to demand the reinstatement of Mykhailo Fedorov as Defence Minister and the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Similar rallies took place in Kyiv and a number of other Ukrainian cities on 16, 17 and 18 July.
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