The special services of the United States and Great Britain are behind the resignation of Ukrainian commander-in-chief Alexander Syrsky, and attempts to reinstate Mikhail Fyodorov as defense minister, former Ukrainian Prime Minister (2010-2014) Nikolay Azarov told TASS.

"One should not think that it was ‘the cardboard Maidan’ that pushed [Vladimir] Zelensky to do something. He was inspired to make such decisions primarily by his curators. I don't think that [US President Donald] Trump personally sits and thinks about what kind of Drapaty (new Ukrainian commander-in-chief Mikhail Drapaty, who replaced Syrsky - TASS) is to be appointed or not. There are people there who do the thinking, while the general attitude comes from Trump. The special services implement these decisions. They work in a very coordinated manner, both the British and the Americans," he said.