‘I didn’t know we had a conflict. Sorry if I caused offense,’ Ukraine’s military chief Syrsky says

I’m at war.

I have no interest in giving interviews or writing columns.

But my silence has come to be read as agreement, so I decided to speak up.

They say I have no strategy for victory — but announcing a strategy publicly would mean handing it to the enemy.

They say I don’t want to fight with drones — but I’m the one who established the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch of the military.

They say I promote only loyalists — but the army’s most popular commanders rose from junior officers to their current posts under me.

I’m waiting for army reform just like the rest of the country.

And I don’t want money set aside for soldiers’ pay to be redirected to buying drones.

I’m not at war with the Defense Ministry.

I didn’t even know there was a conflict between Mykhailo Fedorov and me.

I thought we had a normal working relationship.

Mr.

Fedorov, I apologize if I offended you.

But let’s set aside personal matters and focus on the larger goal — victory.

Ukraine will endure if everyone does their job where they belong. ...