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KYIV, July 22 (Reuters) - Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi was named the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces late on Tuesday as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to reset his military strategy in the war with Russia, which is in its fifth year.
Drapatyi, 43, replaces General Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, who was sacked by Zelenskiy after days of street protests.
NEW GENERATION
Drapatyi, the commander of the joint forces responsible for the Ukrainian defences in the northeastern direction, is described by his colleagues as a general of a new generation whose career was shaped in combat against Russian troops.
During his 26 years in the army, he rose through the ranks from a tank lieutenant to one of Ukraine's most effective combat commanders. Last week, in a rare public post, he said the Ukrainian army needed changes and new rules.
"I believe in the Ukrainian armed forces, which are capable of learning, developing technology, protecting people and allowing commanders to take responsibility for the outcome," he said on Facebook in a post supporting sacked Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
'FLYING ARMOURED VEHICLE'
Drapatyi has fought Russian troops in Ukraine for more than a decade. He became famous in 2014 during fighting in the Donbas when he shouted “Go!” at the driver of an armoured fighting vehicle in Mariupol and tore through a Russian barricade on a mission to rescue besieged police officers. That same year, he led an encircled force that fought its way through Russian territory to freedom.
After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Drapatyi became the go-to commander for areas of the front where the situation was most dire and in need of a swift turnaround. In summer 2024, he stopped a Russian incursion near the city of Kharkiv, stabilised the front line, and soon after became the youngest-ever commander of the Ukrainian land forces, one of the most senior posts in the Ukrainian army .
REFORMS AND RESIGNATION
As the commander of the land forces, Drapatyi tried to implement reforms, revamping the recruitment and training systems. He then said that he wanted to support initiative and flexibility among front-line troops, seeing it as a strength, unlike some other Soviet-trained generals in the Ukrainian army.
But his tenure was short. When Russia struck an army training centre in June 2025, killing at least 12 and wounding dozens of Ukrainian soldiers, Drapatyi resigned, saying he felt personally responsible for the tragedy: "An army in which commanders bear personal responsibility for people’s lives is a living force. An army in which no one is held accountable for casualties is dying from within."
His resignation then stunned many in Ukraine. Shortly after that, he was appointed to the lesser but more combat-focused role of joint forces commander.
EARLY YEARS
Drapatyi was born in 1982 in Kamianets-Podilskyi in western Ukraine. In 2004, he graduated from the Kharkiv Tank Forces Institute and started as a lieutenant in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade in the Kyiv region.
He is married and has a son and a daughter.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
