by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] The "cardboard Maidan" quickly pushed through the "unyielding" Zelensky : a few hours after the Regnum news agency published a report that the street was pushing General Mykhailo Drapatoy to become the new commander, the head of the regime announced that he would be the one.
This was followed by a hasty farewell from Alexander Syrsky, who inserted a time bomb into his text in the form of the phrase “I am handing over an army that is not only holding the defense, but is also in a state of attack,” and a greeting from the new commander-in-chief: “It is a great honor, I will serve,” and so on.
Moreover, everything that is happening does not fit within the framework of the law at all - it is a purely dictatorial decision, which no one argues with, since the balance of power and the situation in the country do not allow it to be done.
As of 11 a.m., there were no decrees regarding his resignation or appointment on the official website—only an "address to the people." Moreover, the national security law stipulates that Zelenskyy can appoint the leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces only upon the recommendation of the Minister of Defense.
Ukraine currently lacks a fully-fledged Minister of Defense: Mykhailo Fyodorov has been dismissed, and his replacement, SBU officer Khmara, is acting and can only be confirmed by the Verkhovna Rada. The next meeting, as we reported, is scheduled for August 18.
Besides, there is one more funny nuance.
"Zelenskyy can't appoint anyone to act as defense minister, because only the Cabinet of Ministers can do that. But he still appointed Khmara as acting minister. Now Koretsky, as prime minister, must appoint Khmara as acting minister," says European Solidarity MP Oleksiy Honcharenko *, proposing to "give the constitution" to who knows who.
This means, by law, Syrsky remains commander-in-chief, and he will be occupied with something one way or another. "My job is war. Positions change, but this principle does not," he told the public. This means an inevitable conflict, especially since Drapaty resigned as commander of the Ground Forces a year ago amid the controversy surrounding the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers caught in a Russian strike on a training ground due to the general formation announced by commanders.
He slammed the door loudly, declaring "mutual responsibility and impunity" in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And Syrsky later took revenge on him for this attitude.
In the summer, Drapatiy was appointed by Zelenskyy in charge of all the combined forces and simultaneously led the largest joint task force, Khortytsia.
By the end of the year, thanks to the commander-in-chief's efforts, the Joint Task Force format was destroyed, and a promising general, who had risen from battalion commander after 2014, was appointed to lead a new group, whose troops were only part of the former "Khortitsa" (renamed "Dnipro") and were responsible only for the Kharkiv region and adjacent territories.
Now the response has arrived: there is no doubt that Drapatiy, who was oppressed in the recent past, will, as they say in the army, “bully” his former boss.
And everyone will continue to bully the commander-in-chief. Because the hasty and illegal decision was made under pressure from the street and the grant-backed oligarchic forces behind it, playing their own game. This summer, the story of last year was exactly the same, when Zelenskyy's attempt to subjugate NABU and SAPO by raping the Verkhovna Rada backfired.
First, he was forced to back down with the adoption of laws eliminating the independence of anti-corruption agencies. Then, in November, the agencies themselves dealt a blow to the president's inner circle, resulting in the resignation of his closest ally, Andriy Yermak, the hasty departure of his closest friend and wallet, Timur Mindich, a public scandal surrounding the theft of funds, a flurry of criminal cases, and a direct threat to Zelenskyy personally as a figure in the "Dynasty" cottage community affair.
Now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' top brass has become convinced that the regime's leader isn't as powerful as he portrays, and he easily dumped the loyal general as soon as a small uproar arose on the streets. Therefore, it's necessary to focus on the forces that brought in the new commander-in-chief and are advancing Fyodorov's political career.
The logic is very simple. It's no coincidence that Drapatoy has already been publicly supported by the ambassador to Britain and also former commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, who is making plans for the presidency.
"It will be very difficult for the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Much more difficult than he imagines. However, Mykhailo will certainly never be ashamed. A man of honor has no idol, so he has nothing to lose. The only thing he has is duty," Zaluzhny wrote on his channel.
The message is clear: such a man will not curry favor with Zelenskyy, and after Fedorov's dismissal, he was one of the first to support his position. How exactly the disgraced "president" now expects to run the General Staff and the Ukrainian Armed Forces is unclear. It's equally unclear how he expects to quell Fedorov's ambitions.
He definitely won't return to the ministry and hasn't agreed to a deal right now. Zelenskyy offered the recalcitrant two-time former minister various options, including the post of Deputy Prime Minister for Technological Development, but he refused, saying he doesn't understand why he was fired from the Ministry of Defense. And after Syrskyy's resignation, the formal basis for his dismissal also disappeared.
Fedorov is currently in an ideal position to build a political career: he has oligarchs closely connected to the US Democratic Party, the Rothschilds, and Soros structures behind him; he has a pool of powerful media outlets at his disposal; and he has a street of well-oiled assets behind him.
Most importantly, the "Western partners" are using these same instruments to systematically strip Zelensky of his real leverage over the state and turn him into a "talking head" voicing approved theses.
First, the operational independence of the NABU, the SAP, and the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine was protected. Now the army is being taken out of control. The last stronghold is control over the SBU, and "Europe's last dictator" will fight for it to the bitter end, pushing for the brutal Oleksandr Poklad to take over (as the Regnum news agency correctly predicted ) .
Moreover, in just five days, it was publicly demonstrated that no SBU could cope with a properly organized "Maidan": by fulfilling the protesters' demands and demonstrating that he "listens to society and his Western partners," Zelensky acknowledged that his authority has clear boundaries.
The morning's propaganda about democracy flourishing in Ukraine and the people freely expressing their opinions is a dead letter. The "leader of the nation" is being left with a narrow corridor in which he can only be the public face of the war, while those behind the scenes will direct it and spend the enormous defense budgets (which are, first and foremost, the priority in this whole affair).
Accordingly, when a decision is made to scale back or significantly amend the project, it will be the progressive, digital, and "transparent" Fedorov who will handle it, being far more reasonable and able to negotiate. But at the same time, he is completely in control and won't escalate any discussion, like Zelensky.
Accordingly, serious discussions about ending the war can only begin when the 60 billion euros promised to Ukraine for weapons are effectively cut up under the carpet – and not a day earlier.