Archival photoCredit: Tom Nicholson/Getty Images

(CNN) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the Chief of the General Staff, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, days after widespread protests against the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose removal revealed an unprecedented public division within the military over its strategy in the war against Russia.

Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander of the Joint Forces, would assume the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

At the same time, Zelenskyy offered Fedorov, whose dismissal from the post of defense minister sparked this political storm, a prominent position in the government that would "enable him to unify the technical side of the state and ensure its development."

Fedorov (35 years old) had built a reputation for adopting innovative methods in technology and recruitment, but he clashed with other members of the Ukrainian defense establishment.

His six-month tenure as defense minister coincided with Ukraine's recent successes on the battlefield, and therefore his dismissal, amid disagreements with Syrskyi, provoked a backlash against the Chief of Staff.