Mykhailo Drapatyj now leads the Ukrainian army.Image: keystone
The 43-year-old Major General Mychajlo Drapatyj will lead the Ukrainian armed forces in the fight against the Russian invasion.
July 22, 2026, 05:03July 22, 2026, 05:03
After days of pressure from demonstrators, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj dismissed the previous commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyj (60) and appointed the younger general to this post.
In a video message from Kiev, the head of state announced a reorganization of the General Staff in coordination with the Defense Ministry and the Presidential Office. Drapatyj, a soldier for 25 years, wrote on Facebook: “I will work responsibly, with concentration and with respect for the people who are defending our country today.”
The reshuffle in the army leadership was preceded by days of protests in many cities in Ukraine, which were sparked by the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov (35). In six months in office, Fedorov pushed forward the mechanization of the Ukrainian army. This was particularly evident in the increasingly successful drone attacks on the Russian hinterland.
New “worthy task” for ex-minister Fedorov
However, as it turned out, the minister was in constant conflict with Commander-in-Chief Syrskyj, an old-school commander who was trained during Soviet times. The demonstrators saw the fired minister as a representative of a different kind of warfare that relies on technology instead of the wear and tear of soldiers, which Ukraine lacks.
After days of consultations with many commanders, Zelensky met again with Fedorov on Tuesday evening. The president announced that he should be given a “dignified position” in which he could continue to look after the technical development of Ukraine. He didn’t give any details.
Drapatyj’s hussar coup in Mariupol 2014
Popularly popular, Drapatyj will become the third commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army in almost four and a half years of the Russian war of aggression, after Valeriy Salushnyj and Olexander Syrskyj. He gained fame as a major in 2014 when he used an armored personnel carrier to break through a roadblock set up by pro-Russian forces in Mariupol. At that time, the port city could be defended by Ukraine.
In 2024, as a commander, Drapatyj helped limit the Russian invasion of the Kharkiv region. He later became commander of the Ukrainian ground forces. He resigned from this post in 2025 because twelve soldiers were killed when a Russian Iskander missile hit a training unit. He said he took responsibility for the fact that soldiers in the army were not adequately protected. Most recently, Drapatyj commanded an army group responsible for the defense of the Kharkiv region.
New commander in chief for army reform
The Kyiv Independent portal wrote that the general had an image as “Ukraine’s top modern, people-focused military leader.” In a Facebook post, Drapatyj declared his support for Fedorov and called for army reform: “The army needs changes, but without justice, changes are meaningless for the people who carry this war on their shoulders every day.”
Zelenskyj expressly praised the military achievements of the outgoing army chief Syrskyj in the defense of Kiev in 2022 and Kharkiv in 2024 as well as in the Ukrainian advance into the Russian Kursk region in 2024. He emphasized that his successor Drapatyj also sees it that way.
The President has appointed Yevheniy Khmara as the new Defense Minister on an interim basis. Drapatyj, Chmara and Presidential Vice President Pavlo Palissa are supposed to take care of reorganizing the relationship between the Defense Ministry and the General Staff. (sda/dpa)