The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has designated Mykhailo Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is set to succeed Oleksandr Syrskyi in this post. The Head of State announced the appointment on the evening of 21 July.
Drapatiy belongs to a generation of Ukrainian commanders whose military careers are directly linked to the hostilities against Russia since 2014. He commanded units on the front line, took part in battles in the Donbas, led troops on key fronts during the full-scale invasion, and subsequently took command of the Land Forces and the Joint Forces Operation.
From battalion commander to the leadership of the Armed Forces
Mikhail Drapaty He was born in 1982. He received his military training at the Institute of Armoured Forces at the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, after which he began his service in mechanised units.
Drapatiy rose to prominence following the outbreak of the war in Donbas in 2014. At the time, he was a battalion commander in the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade.
One of the most famous episodes in his military career was the events in Mariupol in May 2014. A video showing an infantry fighting vehicle breaking through a barricade became one of the iconic images of the early stages of the war. Open-source reports link Drapato to the command of a unit during this operation.
That same year, he fought in eastern Ukraine and was wounded near Krasne in the Luhansk region. He subsequently continued his military service and held command posts.
What role did Drapatiy play during the full-scale war?
Following the Russian invasion in February 2022, Drapatiy served on the most challenging sections of the front line.
His name was associated with the command of troops on the southern front and with military operations in the Kherson region. He subsequently carried out command duties in other sectors, particularly where the Russian army was attempting to advance.
In February 2024, Drapato was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That same year, he also commanded the «Kharkiv» operational-tactical group of forces during a new Russian offensive in the north of the Kharkiv region.
In November 2024, the President appointed Drapato as Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Land Forces. This is one of the key posts in the military hierarchy, as it is the land forces that form the backbone of the Ukrainian forces engaged in combat operations on the front line.
Subsequently, Drapatiy focused on the direct command of troops in the combat zone as commander of the Joint Forces Group.
How does Drapatiy stand out as a commander?
In the public eye, Drapatiy has built a reputation primarily as a combat commander who spent a significant part of his career serving directly in the armed forces.
At the same time, his recent statements suggest that he regards not only the operational command of troops but also changes within the army as priorities.
A few days before the announcement of his appointment, Drapatiy stated that the Armed Forces needed changes, but emphasised that these must be carried out in a way that treats service personnel fairly. He also spoke positively of the military leadership’s willingness to listen to commanders and implement changes.
Following Zelenskyy’s decision, Drapatiy stated that he viewed his new post as a great responsibility.
He emphasised that he intends to work with respect for those who defend Ukraine, and thanked the President for his trust, and the Defence Forces for this new phase of service.
What challenges does the new commander-in-chief face?
For Drapaty, the post of Commander-in-Chief marks a shift from managing individual sectors and formations to taking responsibility for the Armed Forces as a whole.
The Commander-in-Chief exercises direct military command over the Armed Forces of Ukraine, directs their deployment, monitors the readiness of the troops and participates in strategic defence planning for the state. He is also responsible for coordinating the deployment of forces placed under his command.
In his new post, Drapatiy takes command of the army at a time when it faces several challenging tasks simultaneously: containing the Russian offensive, retaining personnel, and manning its units, the development of the corpus system, the scaling up of unmanned technologies and the adaptation of command and control to a war in which technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace.
It was Drapaty’s combat experience and his previous work directly with commanders on the front line that were likely among the key factors in his favour. The main test now will be whether this experience can be translated into systemic changes across the entire army — from operational command to relations between headquarters, commanders and troops on the front line.
