Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatiy stated that the Russian leadership has no right to exist in the civilised world. He also said that as far back as 2014 he realised there would be a major war with Russia, as Ukraine had not fully severed ties with the Russian Federation after gaining independence.
Briefly about the main points
- Drapaty gave a political and moral assessment of the Russian leadership.
- The commander-in-chief linked the origins of the Great War to events following 1991.
- According to him, the realisation that there was a threat of a major war emerged in 2014.
- Drapaty emphasised that Ukraine is gradually moving away from its Soviet legacy.
- The President announced Drapato’s appointment on 21 July 2026.
Statement by the new Commander-in-Chief
Mikhail Drapaty stated that the Russian leadership «has no right to exist in the civilised world». This is a political and moral assessment by the Commander-in-Chief.
According to him, as far back as 2014 he realised that Russia's war against Ukraine will develop into a major one. Drapaty explained this by saying that, after gaining independence, Ukraine had not severed its ties with Russia once and for all.
Personal experiences of the war since 2014
Drapato’s statement also has a personal dimension. In 2014, he was a major and commander of the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 72nd Brigade, and was deployed in the Mariupol sector. That summer, his unit took part in fighting in the border area, which was coming under fire from Russian territory.
International organisations had already noted Russia’s role in the conflict at that time. The UN General Assembly, in Resolution 68/262, reaffirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, whilst the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported the cross-border flow of heavy weapons and foreign fighters into the Donbas, in particular from the Russian Federation.
Moving away from the Soviet legacy
Drapaty also emphasised that Ukraine is moving away from the Soviet era, although, in his words, «it still lingers in many people’s minds». He believes that overcoming it is only a matter of time.
In military terms, such a transformation goes beyond symbolic decommunisation. As part of its comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine, NATO sets out a transition from Soviet standards, training and doctrines to full interoperability with the Alliance. This encompasses procedures, command structures, military education and defence planning.
First tasks in the role
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 21 July announced, …that Mykhailo Drapatiy would become the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and on 22 July it was announced that he had taken up his duties. This statement was therefore made in the first few days of his tenure.
Among the immediate tasks set by the president are the preparation of an updated defence strategy, the continuation of the reform of the corps system, and responding to requests from combat commanders regarding weapons, drones and equipment. The link between Drapato’s remarks on the Soviet legacy and these tasks may point to a broader vision for changes in military management, though the statement itself does not constitute the announcement of a new military doctrine.
