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"Difficult work lies ahead, so we are working without loud promises, with responsibility for our decisions and respect for the people holding the front line and helping Ukraine endure," Drapatyi wrote.
He said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had set "clear tasks" for him and Skybiuk: continuing and intensifying offensive actions across all domains, planning new operations behind enemy lines, developing the military and its technology, and building up the Ukrainian Armed Forces' capabilities.
Drapatyi said he first met Skybiuk in 2022 in southern Ukraine, when the two coordinated the operation to liberate Kherson Oblast from the same command post.
Read also: Kyiv Mayor reacts to Syrskyi’s departure, recalls his role in saving capital from encirclement
"Since then, I have known him as a commander who can be trusted in difficult circumstances and relied upon for his decisions, experience and principles," Drapatyi said.
Read also: Budanov reacts to military shakeup, commends newly appointed Commander-in-Chief
“Under his command in the Air Assault Forces, strong commanders emerged, including Oleh Apostol, Dmytro Voloshyn, Yevhen Lasiychuk, Sviatoslav Zayets, Emil Ishkulov, Andriy Tkachuk, and many others.”
Syrskyi's dismissal
Zelenskyy announced on the evening of July 21 that Oleksandr Syrskyi was stepping down as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, a post he had held since February 2024 following Valerii Zaluzhnyi's dismissal. Drapatyi, 43, who had commanded Ukraine's Joint Forces, became the new army chief.
Read also: Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi reacts to Mykhailo Drapatyi's appointment as military chief
Syrskyi's dismissal came amid protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities that began after Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov's removal on July 16. The former defense minister had said the commander-in-chief blocked all of his team's initiatives and "engaged in scheming."
Syrskyi commented on his dismissal on July 22, saying he would continue serving Ukraine until victory.
Read also: Kyiv protesters welcome Drapatyi as Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Богуслав Романенко
