Who is Gen Syrskyi, UKR’s New Chief Commander; Huge fire Erupts in Moscow, Hundreds Evacuated; Fire Breaks Out in Perm Krai; Navy: UKR Will Destroy Crimean Bridge by End of 2024; 80 Combat Clashes F-Line; UKR Kills 890 RUs, Destroy 7 Tanks, 22 Arm-Veh, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Who is General Syrskyi, Ukraine’s new chief commander?

Following months of reports about a rift in Ukraine’s political and military leadership, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who had led Ukraine’s military since before the full-scale invasion.

Zelensky replaced Zaluzhnyi with General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who had previously served as the commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces and the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group fighting in the country’s east.

When announcing the decision, Zelensky called Syrskyi “the most experienced Ukrainian commander” and recalled the achievements attributed to him — the Battle of Kyiv in spring 2022 and the surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast in September 2022.

Zelensky recently confirmed that he was planning a large-scale reset in the country’s leadership, not just the military one, and said that Ukraine needs “fresh energy.”

Syrskyi’s appointment didn’t come as a total surprise. The general has been named as one of the leading candidates to replace Zaluzhnyi, particularly because he has been known to be on good terms with the Presidential Office.

Syrskyi is expected to present a new leadership team of the Armed Forces in the coming days.

Syrskyi’s background

Syrskyi was born in 1965 in a small village in Russia’s Vladimir region. In the 1980s, he studied at the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School.

Syrskyi continued his military education in independent Ukraine, graduated with honors, and started climbing the army’s career ladder.

As of 2013, the last peaceful year in Ukraine, Syrskyi was a major general and a deputy chief of the armed forces’ main command center.

He was responsible for Ukraine’s military cooperation with NATO and participated in talks on bringing the Ukrainian army closer to the alliance’s standards. —>READ MORE HERE

Huge fire erupts at Moscow residential building with hundreds evacuated as Vladimir Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson is broadcast:

These are the shocking videos that appear to show Russia on fire – just as Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin was being broadcast.

Flames can be seen ripping through a six-storey building in Moscow, with the roof entirely engulfed in flames.

Sparks can be seen flying down onto snowy streets, with fire engines lined up outside.

The building – which appears to be a huge apartment block in the north west of the city, 10 miles from the Kremlin – has been entirely overtaken by the blazes.

Hundreds of residents are said to have been evacuated as social media footage showed a helicopter dumping a huge deluge of water on the blaze, but failing to quell the fire.

One video, which shows the blaze, claims to overhear a resident saying: ‘House on fire. They didn’t put it out for half an hour. Finally they do.

‘But it’s already over. It’s… our house is f*****.’

The building also appears to house shops, with cafes, a hearing aid practitioners and a lawyer all listing it as their base.

Ambulances and police vehicles could be seen at the scene alongside fire engines with crane attachments.

Wider views of the city showed the skyline lit up in orange, as flames rose high above the buildings. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Fire breaks out in Perm Krai, injuring 6+++++

+++++Ukraine will destroy Crimean Bridge by end of 2024 – Navy +++++

+++++80 combat clashes occur at front, Russians attack on Avdiivka front – General Staff report +++++

+++++Ukrainian forces kill 890 Russians, and destroy 7 tanks and 22 armoured vehicles+++++

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