Former Senior Kyiv General Tells BBC That Russia's Offensive Capability Has Been Broken

In his first interview since being dismissed from his post, General Syrskyi speaks about Ukraine's future in the war.

By Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasolov reporting from Kiev

In an interview with the BBC, the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine claimed that Ukraine had stabilized the front line by killing many of its own men and had broken Russia's ability to advance.

Gen. Alexander Sirsky made the comments in an exclusive interview, the first since he was dramatically fired from his post in the summer.

He addressed his dismissal, contradicting his critics who saw him as too "old school" to command Ukraine's new, technologically advanced forces.

He also pushed back against accusations from soldiers who had previously served under him, who told the BBC they were ordered to stay in their positions even when they were almost surrounded by the Russians, resulting in heavy casualties.

Sirsky said Moscow's total casualties in the war were six times higher than Ukraine's. "If you just count the dead, it goes up to 11 times," he added.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine officially announce their death toll. The Ukrainian military says it inflicted unprecedented casualties on Russian troops this September, although this cannot be confirmed.

British intelligence chiefs estimate that Russia has lost around half a million men in Ukraine since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Meanwhile, the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that up to 150,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died abroad by June 2026.

He says the disparity in the death toll — as well as technological advances, and the strategy of attacking weak points in Russian lines while holding back their advances in other sectors — is responsible for the current stalemate on the front.

In the first six months of 2026, Russia managed to capture a total of 61 square kilometers, the general said. This is a sign of stabilization of the front line.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has also confirmed this trend. One of its recent reports, Foreigner, says that in September 2026, Moscow lost more territory than it occupied.

In 2024, Sirsky was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine. He was previously praised for defending Kiev at the start of Russia's full-scale offensive in 2022 and for leading a successful counteroffensive east of Kharkiv in the fall of that year.

But U.S. President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Syrsky this summer amid major disagreements with then-Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov.

Instead of adapting to the changing realities of war, Fedorov said the army under Sirsky's command blocked his initiatives.

Zelensky initially fired Fedorov as tensions between the two men became apparent. But massive street protests forced the president to fire Sirski as well and replace him with 43-year-old Major General Mykhailo Drapati.

Sirsky told the BBC that he had "disagreements" with Fedorov because Fedorov did not consider the "interests of the army" when purchasing weapons and supplies.

Fedorov created Budsirsky said "imbalance" in resources. He prioritized drones while ignoring the main frontline kits like unmanned ground vehicles, vans and motorcycles. Even with drones, there were shortages, Sirsky said, as the military received only half of what it needed.

Fedorov was a popular young minister known for his digital and technological initiatives. Many compared him to Sirski, who critics thought was ill-suited to lead the new arms race with Russia.

But Sirsky disagrees with such criticism. During his time, he said, the use of drones reached new and unprecedented levels, including deep strikes more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) behind enemy lines. Ukraine was the first country to create unmanned systems forces as a separate branch of the armed forces under his command: now, according to him, drones account for 80% of Russia's losses.

However, under his military leadership, Ukrainian forces staged a disorderly retreat from the eastern towns of Avdiyka and Voldar and around Pokrovsk.

Soldiers who have spoken to the BBC in the past have complained that they have been ordered to hold their positions at all costs. By the time they were told to retreat, it was often too late as they were almost surrounded by Russian forces.

Sirsky does not deny that such situations occur on the front lines. But he told the BBC that Ukraine was fighting a much more powerful army.

By 2025, the ratio of jets to bombs would be 18 to one in Moscow's favor, he said. In the same year, Russia had two and a half times more cannons and bullets than Ukraine. He argued that with four million trained military men who could be mobilized, Russian forces could create opportunities to advance.

One of Sirsky's most famous operations was the attack on the Kursk region of Russia, which began in August 2024. The operation ended in a dramatic retreat the following spring, which some soldiers described as "disastrous". Sirsky, however, insisted that the Kursk operation was "a necessity".

"In the summer of 2024, Russian forces advanced in all major directions on the front line six times more than ours," he explained.

Sirsky said the Kursk offensive disrupted Russia's offensive, forcing Moscow to reroute forces and giving Ukraine a chance to recover its vast brigades in the east and south.

He also had strong words for European allies who are skeptical that Russia may have territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine. He advised European partners to start preparing for war now and "put aside all illusions that [it] won't come".

He also said that he believes the war in Ukraine will become even more technological. There will be more robots, automated systems, and artificial intelligence (AI). "Even conventional weapons now have an AI-based control system to enhance their capabilities," he said.

Such technologies can give new life to conventional weapons such as tanks. Both Russia and Ukraine were now competing, Sirsky said, to develop "active defense systems" to protect armored vehicles.

But he insisted that "the human role [on the battlefield] will remain definitive because [people] have to control those systems."

Ukraine suffered a blackout after the Russian attacks despite the "energy ceasefire".