Ukraine Appoints Mykhailo Drapatyi as New Military Commander-in-Chief Amid Leadership Shake-up

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has named a young general, Mykhailo Drapatyi, as the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military in the biggest shake-up of country's military leadership since Russia invaded.

Mr Zelenskyy replaced former commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, with General Drapatyi, 43, a respected and experienced commander who led the country's land forces from 2024 to 2025.

The change followed days of street protests sparked by a surprise governmental reshuffle that ousted popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

It also reflects tensions between Ukrainians who see the use of technology as key to winning the war and an old guard with a traditional approach.

Clash of ideas

Mr Zelenskyy last week dismissed tech-savvy reformist Mr Fedorov, 35, who had led an effort to advance drone innovation and clashed with General Syrskyi, accusing him of sabotaging his work.

General Drapatyi was supported by some of the protesters who rallied outside Mr Zelenskyy's office for several days, demanding Fedorov be brought back and General Syrskyi removed.

Mr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian defence forces' operations must continue steadily.

"Ukraine's plan for long-range sanctions and our program of middle-range strikes will be carried out with absolute precision," he said.

The reshuffle has come as Kyiv seeks to gain the upper hand in the war against Moscow by heavily striking Russia's energy sector — its main source of budget revenue — and logistics.

Mr Fedorov's dismissal stirred concerns among military analysts that Ukraine's recent battlefield momentum could be lost.

In a Facebook post, General Drapatyi thanked General Syrskyi for his work strengthening the military.

"I grew up in it," he said, referring to the army.

"I will work responsibly, with focus and with respect for the people defending our state today."

General Syrskyi played a key role in Kyiv's defence in the early days of the war and had been in his top post since early 2024.

But he has faced harsh criticism for a rigid command style that some service members have said results in high troop losses.

Mr Zelenskyy did not mention any new post for General Syrskyi, saying he discussed the four-star-general's future service with him.

He also said he had offered Mr Fedorov, who previously said he only wants his former job back, a "decent post" to oversee the technological component of the state.

Daring and determined fighter

The new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military forged his reputation as a daring and determined fighter in the early days of the country's battle against Russia, then spent a decade in combat assignments while steadily rising through the ranks.

General Drapatyi spent nearly his entire career in combat postings, including leading Ukraine's joint forces, which direct day-to-day combat operations across branches of the army.

His reputation was forged in 2014, early in Russia's war in eastern Ukraine, when he led an armoured column into central Mariupol to rescue police officers and territorial officials besieged by pro-Russian militants who had threatened to burn them alive.

When the column's path was blocked by a barricade more than a metre high, General Drapatyi, riding in the lead vehicle, ordered the driver to accelerate, and the vehicle bounced over the barrier as if off a ramp.

The moment, which was captured on video that circulated widely, is considered one of the most remarkable episodes in the early resistance.

It was a bold move for the Ukrainian army at the time, when decisive and independent moves by field officers were rare. The army was still poorly equipped, largely untested and wary of any action that might escalate tensions with Russia.

Months later, General Drapatyi's battalion spent weeks encircled by Russian-backed forces near the Russian border.

Rather than disarm and walk out, General Drapatyi chose to fight his way free, leading 260 soldiers and more than 30 vehicles out of the pocket at night.