President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had appointed Mykhailo Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He also announced that approaches to restructuring the General Staff had been agreed upon with the participation of Drapaty, Yevhen Khmara and Pavlo Palisa. The President announced that all decisions would be formalised on 22 July.
Briefly about the main points
- Zelenskyy announced that he had appointed Mykhailo Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- The plan is to formalise the staffing decisions on 22 July.
- The President has announced changes to the General Staff’s structure.
- Khmara and Palisa took part in the consultations regarding the General Staff.
- Zelenskyy and Syrsky discussed the handover of responsibilities and future arrangements for their service.
The decision has yet to be finalised
The President’s statement marks the transition of the personnel change from consultations to an announced political decision. However, as of 21 July, no separate decree on the dismissal had been issued Alexander Syrsky or purpose Mykhailo Drapaty It wasn’t on the President’s website.
Before formalising the legal arrangements Scaly He remains Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was appointed to this post by presidential decree in June 2025.
The General Staff is being reorganised alongside a reshuffle
Zelenskyy said that, together with Drapaty, By Yevhen Khmara and Pavlo Palisa has determined what the revised structure of the General Staff should be. The Chief of the General Staff is Andriy Gnatov; the President also discussed with him the future arrangements for his service and the handover of cases, together with Syrskyi.
The President did not specify the exact distribution of posts and powers. Yevheniia Khmara was dismissed the day before from her post as head of the SBU’s Special Operations Centre «A», whilst Palis is the deputy head of the Office of the President. This suggests that this is not merely a change of commander-in-chief, but also a broader overhaul of the armed forces’ management model.
Zelenskyy thanked Syrskyi for his service
The President highlighted the role Alexander Syrsky in the defence of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive and the Kursk operations. He thanked Syrskyi and the Ukrainian military for what he described as Ukraine’s strong frontline positions.
Zelenskyy emphasised that the aim of the personnel decisions is to defeat Russia and to create conditions on the front line and in terms of pressure on Moscow that would force it to make peace. He stated that Ukraine must emerge from this situation stronger.
