Mykhailo Drapatyi, battle-hardened general, becomes war-torn Ukraine's new military chief

Ukraine has appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new commander-in-chief of its armed forces, marking a significant overhaul of military leadership as Kyiv looks to reshape its strategy against Russia after more than four years of full-scale war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the appointment late on July 22, replacing General Oleksandr Syrskyi, whose exit followed mounting domestic criticism and several days of public protests.

The leadership change comes at a time when Ukraine continues to face sustained pressure along multiple sections of the front while seeking to improve battlefield effectiveness and military organisation.


At 43, Drapatyi becomes one of the youngest officers to assume the country's highest military post. His rise reflects a broader shift towards commanders whose experience has been forged in combat against Russian forces rather than through the Soviet-era military establishment.

A career officer with more than two decades of service, Drapatyi began his military journey as a tank lieutenant after graduating from the Kharkiv Tank Forces Institute in 2004.

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Over the years, he advanced steadily through operational and command roles, earning a reputation for taking charge in difficult combat situations.

His name first gained national prominence during the fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2014. During the conflict in Mariupol, he led an armoured vehicle through a Russian-held barricade to reach surrounded police personnel.

In another operation that year, he commanded an encircled Ukrainian formation that successfully fought its way out despite overwhelming pressure.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Drapatyi has frequently been assigned to sectors where Ukrainian forces faced some of the toughest battlefield challenges.

Military observers credit him with helping stabilise the front near Kharkiv during a major Russian offensive in 2024, a performance that led to his elevation as the youngest commander of Ukraine's land forces.

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His tenure overseeing the land forces focused not only on combat operations but also on institutional reforms.

Drapatyi pushed for changes in recruitment and training while advocating greater operational flexibility for frontline commanders. He argued that empowering officers to take initiative would strengthen the military's effectiveness in a fast-changing battlefield environment.

His stint in that role, however, ended abruptly after a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military training facility in June 2025 left at least 12 soldiers dead and dozens injured. Drapatyi stepped down, accepting personal responsibility for the incident and maintaining that military leadership must remain accountable for the lives of its personnel.

The decision drew widespread attention in Ukraine, where senior military resignations on grounds of responsibility are uncommon.

Soon after leaving the land forces command, he returned to frontline duties as commander of the joint forces, overseeing operations in Ukraine's northeastern theatre. That assignment kept him closely involved in active combat until his elevation to the country's top military position.

Born in Kamianets-Podilskyi in western Ukraine in 1982, Drapatyi has spent virtually his entire professional life in uniform. Married with two children, he now assumes command at a critical stage of the conflict, with expectations that his battlefield experience and reform-oriented approach will shape the next phase of Ukraine's military strategy against Russian forces.