Ukraine's Syrskyi salutes ousted US Army Europe chief Donahue
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Gen. Christopher Donahue relinquished command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa on Thursday after an unexpectedly brief 18 months, having submitted retirement papers at the personal request of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — news of the request broke June 23.
- Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, published a Telegram farewell thanking Donahue for delivering long-range systems, strengthening Ukraine's air defenses and saving "thousands of Ukrainian lives" — a partnership rooted in the first days of Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.
- Two U.S. officials told CBS News that Donahue "had earned the ire" of Hegseth, and that the two men met in person only once, in February 2025; Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell offered no explanation beyond the standard "serve at the pleasure" line.
- The ouster extends a shake-up that has removed or replaced at least a dozen senior military leaders since Hegseth took office, and the Wiesbaden headquarters itself is being downgraded from a four-star to a three-star command as part of his push to cut four-star billets.
- Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine is among those seeking a presidential waiver so Donahue can retire at four stars — a rank he has held for fewer than the three years federal law requires.
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called the move "yet another unforced error from a Secretary leading the Pentagon with bro-culture bravado," while retired Adm. William McRaven warned in The Atlantic the dismissals raise the risk of military miscalculation by silencing candid advice.
- The news came days after Hegseth announced a six-month review of U.S. forces in Europe, and European officials told Newsweek they fear the exit foreshadows a drawdown of the roughly 80,000 American troops on the continent.
Why it matters: The general who built the Army's Ukraine support pipeline and developed NATO's Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative is out at the same moment the Pentagon is downgrading his headquarters, reviewing the 80,000-strong U.S. force posture in Europe, and removing a dozen other senior leaders — a pattern that European allies and Kyiv read as American retrenchment even as the war grinds on.
