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Zelensky Dismisses Syrskyi, Sparking Wartime Election Calls

8/20/2026

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Summary

Story summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed General Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, removed in July, called for wartime elections to address a governance crisis.
A Kyiv Institute of Sociology poll in June showed 67 percent of Ukrainians expect Zelensky to be replaced after the war.
Twelve people were killed in ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv early Thursday.

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Story summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed General Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, removed in July, called for wartime elections to address a governance crisis.
A Kyiv Institute of Sociology poll in June showed 67 percent of Ukrainians expect Zelensky to be replaced after the war.
Twelve people were killed in ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv early Thursday.