General 200

English Etymology "200" means cargo-200, the military slang for deceased soldiers. The term refers to Syrskyi's preference to high-intensity, high-casualty operations, such as the Battle of Bakhmut and Kursk campaign. Proper noun General 200 en neologism derogatory Oleksandr Syrskyi en 2024-02-10 w:CNN Outmanned and outgunned: Ukraine’s new army chief faces big challenges in taking the fight to Russia https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/10/europe/syrskyi-ukraine-challenges-war-intl Syrskyi has been in command of land forces since the Russian invasion but was criticized for extending the defense of Bakhmut at great human cost. Subordinates have described him as lacking empathy and some soldiers took to calling him “General 200” (200 is the military code for killed-in-action.) https://web.archive.org/web/20250513224155/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/10/europe/syrskyi-ukraine-challenges-war-intl 13 May 2025 en 2024-03-21 Jakub Olchowski The case of Valerii Zaluzhnyi – a symptom of growing political tensions in Ukraine IEŚ Commentaries https://ies.lublin.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ies-commentaries-1084-59-2024.pdf 59 1084 2 Although the Ukrainian media is reluctant to write about it, soldiers unofficially call him “General 200” or the “Bakhmut butcher”, accusing him of a tendency not to take losses into account. https://web.archive.org/web/20260820214746/https://ies.lublin.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ies-commentaries-1084-59-2024.pdf 20 August 2026 en 2026-07-17 w:BBC Many Ukrainian soldiers outraged over removal of defence minister, troops tell BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8w4dpjkwo "Syrskyi commands no authority or respect," Andriy told us. "To us, he remains the General 200," a derogatory nickname referring to a Soviet military code for casualties. https://web.archive.org/web/20260822031620/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8w4dpjkwo 22 August 2026 en Nicknames for individuals History of Ukraine