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After six days of protests over Mykhailo Fedorov’s dismissal as defense minister, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met one of the demonstrators’ central demands: He removed Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Zelenskyy replaced him with the candidate who had received the strongest support from protesters — Joint Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi.
“Serving Ukraine has always been an honor for me, and during the war for independence, it means absolute responsibility,” Drapatyi wrote after his appointment. “I will work responsibly, with focus and with respect for the people who are defending our state today. Glory to the nation. Death to the enemies.”
Drapatyi also thanked Syrskyi for his consistent work to strengthen the Ukrainian military.
“I grew up in it,” the major general added.
NV compiled the key facts about Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief.
The beginning of the war and the flying infantry fighting vehicle
Drapatyi was born on Nov. 21, 1982, in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
He studied at the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Forces and joined the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade after graduating in 2004.
Drapatyi later married his wife, Yuliia, who studied at the Vinnytsia Academy of Continuing Education and until recently taught at the Bila Tserkva School of Arts. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.
When Russia launched its war against Ukraine in 2014, Drapatyi commanded the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, based in Bila Tserkva.
The full brigade was deployed to eastern Ukraine by mid-April and awaiting combat orders. Units from Drapatyi’s battalion were stationed around Mariupol.
Drapatyi became widely known during the 2014 battles for Mariupol, when armored vehicles under his command broke into the occupied city.
Russian-backed forces attempted to seize the city police headquarters in May. Drapatyi’s battalion was ordered to enter Mariupol in armored vehicles, reinforce Ukrainian units repelling the assault and help free hostages.
Barricades had been erected across the city’s streets. One blocked the route of a four-vehicle armored column as it was leaving Mariupol after completing its mission.
Drapatyi was riding in the lead BMP infantry fighting vehicle and ordered the driver to continue moving. The armored vehicle effectively flew over the barricade, smashing a path for the rest of the column.
Drapatyi recalled the driver asking him: “Comrade major, look, there are barricades ahead. What should we do?”
“I said: ‘Dima, step on it!’” Drapatyi recalled.
“That was how the BMP-2K became a flying infantry fighting vehicle,” he added with a smile.
Ukraine regained full control of Mariupol in 2014.
Breaking out of the Izvaryne pocket
The 1st and 2nd battalions of the 72nd Brigade conducted raids along the Russian border in June 2014, taking control of several border communities and holding the strategic Saur-Mohyla height.
Their mission was to cut Russian-backed forces off from supply routes.
Russian troops responded by shelling Ukrainian units from Russian territory with Grad and Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems.
Units from the 72nd, 79th and 24th brigades, along with Ukrainian border guards, found themselves trapped under fire. They could not effectively return fire because Russian-backed militants were operating from populated areas where civilians were living.
Drapatyi commanded the 72nd Brigade’s strike group and assumed responsibility for withdrawing Ukrainian troops from the Izvaryne and Chervonopartyzansk areas.
Troops from the 72nd, 79th and 24th brigades broke out of the Izvaryne pocket overnight on Aug. 7, evacuating 260 service members and more than 30 military vehicles.
“There were days when we were shelled continuously for seven hours with every type of artillery and mortar,” Drapatyi recalled. “The forces were unequal, no assistance arrived, ammunition was running out and almost all the equipment had been disabled.”
“The units then launched a breakout. Not everyone managed to escape, but those who did truly became heroes,” he added.
Drapatyi’s battalion returned to the front near Volnovakha after restoring its combat capability.
He enrolled at the National Defense University of Ukraine and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He soon transferred to a part-time study program and returned to the war zone.
Drapatyi served as chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade until late summer 2016.
He became commander of the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, based in Konotop, in 2016. The brigade was then operating near Avdiivka and in the Yasynuvata area of Donetsk Oblast.
Drapatyi commanded the brigade along the Bakhmut highway beginning in 2017 and was promoted to colonel in 2019.
The full-scale invasion and training-ground tragedy
Drapatyi served as deputy commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Joint Forces for troop training when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
He became deputy commander of Operational Command South and commander of the Southern Group of Forces in March 2022. The formation, later known as the Kakhovka Operational Group of Forces, stopped Russia’s advance toward Kryvyi Rih.
Drapatyi became one of the commanders of Ukraine’s operation to liberate the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast west of the Dnipro River in fall 2022. He later commanded the Kherson Operational Group of Forces.
He was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff for military training in February 2024.
Drapatyi took command of the Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Group in May 2024 after Russia launched a renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast. He was appointed commander of the Luhansk Operational-Tactical Group in September.
Drapatyi became commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces in late November 2024 and assumed command of the Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group of Forces in January 2025.
A Russian missile struck a Ground Forces training unit in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on June 1, 2025, killing 12 service members and injuring more than 60.
Drapatyi accepted personal responsibility for the soldiers’ deaths and submitted his resignation.
“As commander, I failed to fully ensure that my orders were carried out,” Drapatyi said. “I did not push hard enough, convince enough or change the attitude toward the person in the ranks. This is my responsibility.”
“We will not win this war unless we build an army where honor is not a word but an action,” he added. “Where responsibility is not a punishment but the foundation of trust. Where every commander is accountable every day — for an order, for a decision and for a person.”
Zelenskyy did not accept Drapatyi’s resignation and instead appointed him commander of the Joint Forces.
Drapatyi took command of the newly created Joint Forces Group responsible for a section of the front in Kharkiv Oblast in October 2025.
He has received all three classes of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and holds the title of Hero of Ukraine.
A voice for change
Drapatyi publicly supported the continuation of military reforms after Fedorov was dismissed as defense minister.
The military had gained a partner at the Defense Ministry over the previous six months who not only met its needs but also demanded changes in established approaches, faster decision-making and support for commanders willing to accept responsibility, Drapatyi wrote.
“There was a willingness to listen to commanders, make decisions faster and support changes that originate within the units,” he said.
The transformation of Ukraine’s Defense Forces cannot end because a minister, a team or the head of a particular department changes, Drapatyi said.
“The army needs new rules under which the right decision does not depend on the personal courage of an individual commander or the support of a particular team at the ministry,” he said.
“If changes help a soldier accomplish a combat mission, they must be continued, protected and made part of the military’s daily work,” Drapatyi added.
Zelenskyy announced Drapatyi’s appointment as commander-in-chief on the evening of July 21.
The decision was welcomed by protesters who had supported Drapatyi for the post, as well as by military personnel and political leaders.
President’s Office chief Kyrylo Budanov described Drapatyi as a commander with a genuine understanding of combat who assesses situations realistically, makes decisions quickly and protects his troops.
“The army trusts him, and that trust was earned in battle,” Budanov wrote. “Mykhailo Vasylovych, major tasks lie ahead, and you have everything necessary to complete them. The army is strong, and its command is in reliable hands.”
“We know what we are standing for, and we know where we are going,” the lieutenant general added. “Our resilience is the path to victory.”
“You can count on my full support and assistance. Our strength lies in unity and in the responsibility of each person,” Budanov said.
Fedorov also congratulated Drapatyi on his appointment.
The Ukrainian public’s high expectations must be met with a clear vision for ending the war, a strong team and decisive action focused on saving military lives, bringing more robotic systems to the front, carrying out asymmetric strikes and exhausting the Russian economy, Fedorov said.
“This is fresh air and new hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice,” he added. “It is a voice for change that could not be ignored.”
Former commander-in-chief and current Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Drapatyi would face an extremely difficult task.
“It will be much harder than he imagines,” Zaluzhnyi wrote. “But Mykhailo will certainly never have reason to be ashamed.”
“A person of honor has no idol, and therefore has nothing to lose,” he added. “The only thing he has is his duty.”
The military system needs reform because many important decisions have had to be made “in spite of the system, not because of it,” Zaluzhnyi said, calling for further changes in military governance.
“Silence does not protect the army,” he said. “It only allows mistakes to accumulate until correcting them becomes much more difficult.”
Read also:
・Moscow places Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief Drapatyi on wanted list
・New Ukraine army commander names Skybiuk as General Staff chief
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Russian war
Author: Дем'ян Шевко
