It is evident that the general would like a little more speed.
"This isn't a show," says Syrskyi. The men running from the trenches are preparing for battle. The scene being played out for the general at a military camp in the east of Ukraine was one of their final exercises - and designed to impress. "Ordinarily, it would be quicker," Syrskyi says when asked whether he is content with what he has seen.
Syrskyi, who led the Ukrainian defence of Kyiv last spring and shocked the world with a counteroffensive that liberated huge swathes of north-east Ukraine in the autumn, says the world had to be patient.
"Everyone wants to achieve a great victory instantly and at once," he says. "And so do we.
"I want to say that our main force has not been engaged in fighting yet, and we are now searching, probing for weak places in the enemy defences."
He is attentive to the large screens relaying drone footage back to the command post, and scrupulously polite to the officers leaning in to earnestly brief him about the movements of the sappers, tanks and armoured vehicles ranged in front of him.
But there is a restlessness to the general - slim, but broad at the shoulders and thick in the forearms - as he stands in a huddle with his fellow officers and soldiers under the hot midday sun.
Syrskyi, 57, is the second most senior army officer in Ukraine, behind Valeriy Zaluzhny, the overall commander of the country's armed forces, and it is on Syrskyi that many have pinned their hopes of a breakthrough in the war.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 24, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 24, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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