The new Chief of Staff Oleksandr Sirsky faces major challenges; Including the decline in Western support (Getty)

Kiev -

After a long dispute and controversy, the matter was settled in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the Chief of Staff, General Valery Zalughny, appointing Colonel Oleksandr Sersky, Commander of the Ground Forces, in his place.

Sersky now has little time to build a new military command as the war anniversary approaches on February 24, but how were these changes reflected on the Ukrainian street? How will it affect the battle fronts with Russia?

Contrary to what many expected, the dismissal did not reflect a revolution in the street or even anger, but rather passed as merely important news, and reactions were limited to comments of support and resentment on social media sites only.

A wide segment of Ukrainians link the army's success to the sacked Defense Minister Valery Zalogny (Reuters)

Inappropriate timing

According to political analyst, Volodymyr Fesenko, “The form of dismissal contributed to calming the situation, because it was carried out smoothly, and Zaloghny seemed satisfied, accepted it willingly, and acted with a responsibility worthy of appreciation, before Zelensky honored him with a high medal.”

In the end, according to Fesenko, “the army is not Zaloghny and Zaloghny is not the army, even if a large segment of Ukrainians associate the two, believing that the army’s successes depend on Zaloghny’s presence in office.”

As for the military level, controversy has erupted among military experts about the dismissal and appointment, among a few supporters of Siersky in his new position, and others who consider Zaloghny’s dismissal to be “an untimely mistake.”

Military expert and Colonel in the Reserve Forces, Oleg Zhdanov, believes that “Sirsky’s appointment was the last expected possibility, because he is not comparable to Zaloghny, and he needs years to gain great experience that prompted even Britain to honor him (Zalozhny) as it had not done with anyone before him,” he said.

Zhdanov considers Zaloghny's dismissal to be an "untimely military mistake," which will reflect negatively on the battle fronts with a possible division, especially in light of the mobilization crisis and ammunition shortage that the Ukrainian forces are suffering from.

A "thug" with cruel methods

Sirsky's name emerged during the first weeks of the Russian war on Ukraine, and he was credited with liberating the provinces of Kiev, Chernihiv, and Sumy in the north, then Kharkiv in the east, and Mykolaiv and part of Kherson in the south. Before he was honored with the Order "Hero of Ukraine".

However, Sersky's new sensitive position is prompting some Ukrainians today to talk about his origins, which are not ignored in society as before, and have no longer been welcomed in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, especially since he was born in a village near Moscow in 1965, and studied in the latter before... He served as an officer in the Soviet Red Army, then moved in the late 1980s to live and serve in Ukraine.

But others look at the matter from a completely different angle. They consider discussing the matter “nonsense,” and believe that the experience that Sersky acquired in the Soviet past qualifies him well for the task and helps him to carry it out.

Ivan Stupak, a military expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future and a former advisor on military security affairs in the Ukrainian parliament, says: “As Ukrainians, today we prefer Western Atlantic military schools. But the situation is a reality and we cannot change it.”

He continued, speaking to Al Jazeera Net, "The Soviet Military School of Sirsky helps him understand the Russian mentality in wars and fighting, and this is what we actually saw in the first months of the war."

In a not-so-distant context, some soldiers and the media describe Sersky as a “butcher or murderer,” as some army commanders in Russia describe him, and this description is used by both Ukrainians and Russians.

Stupak says, "The Ukrainian soldiers' comments on the appointment of Sirsky reflect a difference in opinions and expectations among them. Those who worked with him considered him a thug, and Sirsky is known to have a really tough temper, tending toward a harsh leadership style."

But Stupak pointed out that "others saw that the team that Sersky began to form consisted of well-known and experienced military personnel, which contributed to alleviating anxiety and creating a balance of opinions."

A Ukrainian soldier with an anti-tank missile launcher on one of the front lines in the Donetsk region (Reuters)

A month to take steps

The street in Ukraine is waiting for the first steps that Sersky will take to move the waters that have been stagnant for more than a year on the battle fronts, and to achieve new progress for his country.

Expert Stupak says: “We have to wait for the completion of Sersky’s team, and the first concrete steps that he will take to bring about some change. I think he has a month for this purpose, otherwise the wave of criticism will increase,” he said.

But other experts do not expect much from Sersky in his first days, and link this to the reality and difficult issues facing the Ukrainian army.

Military analyst Denis Popovich says, "Sirsky is a prisoner of issues that are putting pressure on Ukraine and its army, most notably the mobilization that is causing controversy in the country's society, and the lack of necessary ammunition due to the decline in supplies from the West, especially from the United States, especially after the faltering counter-operations last year."

Popovich considers that one of the most important tasks that falls to Sersky is to think of “measures that will help Ukraine fight even if Western support declines or stops.”

Source: Al Jazeera