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- Ukraine has a new commander in chief, the 43-year-old brigadier general, Mykhailo Drapatyi.
- His war track record and reputation for pushing for innovation have made him a public favorite.
- His appointment comes amid days of political turmoil after the ousting of the popular defense minister.
Mykhailo Drapatyi, one of Ukraine's youngest generals, is now the country's commander in chief, following the sacking of his predecessor, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed the 43-year-old Drapatyi after days of mass protests over the dismissal of the country's defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.
Thousands had gathered last week in Kyiv and other major cities to call for the reinstatement of the 35-year-old Fedorov, seen as a champion of the direly needed modernization of Ukraine's military.
Their demands included the firing of Syrskyi, who oversaw several major victories against Russia but is criticized as an old-guard, Soviet-style leader who blocked needed change and reportedly clashed with Fedorov, leading to the young minister's removal.
Conversely, Drapatyi is one of the war's most popular generals, belonging to a younger generation of officers who climbed the ranks while fighting Russia after its 2014 invasion of Crimea.
The new military chief is widely regarded as a disciplined commander who defies the Ukrainian military's Soviet-rooted culture while pushing for tactical innovation, drone warfare, recruiting reforms, and accountability among leadership.
Fedorov was publicly praised for doing the same, so pundits have often described the two as ideal partners for reshaping Ukraine's military into a more NATO-aligned, tech-savvy force capable of beating Moscow.
"Drapatyi is the best choice of those mentioned in the media," Mykola Bielieskov, senior analyst for Ukraine's largest military crowdfunding organization, ComeBackAlive, told Business Insider.
The 'flying BMP' commander
Drapatyi first drew attention in 2014 when fighting pro-Russian separatists in Mariupol as a battalion commander. A major at the time, he'd been sent to rescue police officers surrounded by armed militants in the city.
Drapatyi led a column of four infantry fighting vehicles and ordered the driver of his BMP to charge headlong into a barricade, sending the vehicle careening over the barrier and smashing through to clear the way.
A video clip of the incident went viral, turning Drapatyi into a celebrity for his "flying BMP" moment at a time when Ukraine's forces were still finding their footing.
A month later, he famously led 260 Ukrainian troops and 30 vehicles to break out of a Russian encirclement in Luhansk. After days of being trapped under artillery fire, the Ukrainians fought their way by night through some 24 miles of enemy territory, losing one soldier in the process.
Drapatyi climbed steadily through Ukraine's ranks afterward and was promoted to brigadier general in December 2021. Three months later, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Drapatyi was 40 when the full war began, and has held field commands in Kherson, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and the Donbas. He took part in Ukraine's major 2022 counteroffensive to liberate its southern territories and was later known as the general to call when part of the front line was at risk of collapsing.
Bielieskov said that Drapatyi is respected among Ukrainian troops as a "decent officer" who stabilized the Kharkiv and Pokrovsk fronts in 2024.
His appointment was a step by Zelenskyy toward defusing public furor over Fedorov's removal, Bielieskov added.
The defense minister position has been given, for now, to Yevhen Khmara, who previously led Ukraine's security service. But mass protests continue, with demonstrators still demanding Fedorov's reinstatement.
"Now it's about team, especially who is to be Chief of General Staff. And who the MOD chief would eventually be," Bielieskov said.
Ukraine's twin mavericks
A major decision that earned Drapatyi recognition was his resignation as leader of Ukraine's ground forces in June 2025, when a Russian strike killed 12 soldiers and wounded about 60 others at a Ukrainian military base.
Drapatyi, who took the post eight months before, said he would relinquish his role to take personal responsibility for the deaths, describing it as a stand against Ukrainian military culture where accountability from top leadership was rare.
Two days later, however, Zelenskyy assigned Drapatyi command of Ukraine's joint forces, a role the brigadier general held until his appointment as commander in chief.
That reputation and track record made Drapatyi a favorite candidate among Fedorov's supporters for the highest military command, who see both men as a dream team of sorts who could maximize Ukraine's chances of defeating Russia.
The pair have voiced support for each other in their respective roles, with Drapatyi endorsing Fedorov shortly after the former defense minister's ousting.
"There is a willingness to listen to commanders, make decisions faster, and support changes that are born in the units," Drapatyi wrote on Thursday of the defense ministry under Fedorov. "This is exactly how this interaction should be."
Meanwhile, Fedorov, whose political popularity has surged since his removal, called Drapatyi's appointment a "breath of fresh air."
Last week, he'd named the brigadier general as one of the top commanders who repeatedly clashed with Syrskyi over what Drapatyi felt were necessary changes in the military.
Bielieskov warned that the appointment won't change the fact that Ukraine faces deep, systemic challenges Drapatyi will have to tackle, such as a struggle to recruit soldiers, incomplete organizational reforms at the corps level, and a lack of skilled personnel in some roles.
"No matter popularity, the management of war would be a challenge," Bielieskov said.
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