Zelensky appointed Drapatyi as the new commander of the Ground Forces

Mykhailo Drapatyi became the new commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mykhailo Drapatyi participated in the Anti-terrorist operation in the east of Ukraine. He began his military career as the commander of the 2nd battalion of the 72nd mechanized brigade.

Under his command, in May 2014, units of the 72nd mechanized brigade entered Mariupol on armored vehicles to reinforce the units that were repelling the onslaught of militants.

In August 2016, Drapatyi was appointed commander of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade, which at that time was performing tasks in the Avdiivka and Yasynuvatsky districts of the Donetsk region. In July 2017, he directed the actions of the 58th Infantry Brigade in the area of the Bakhmut highway directly in the area of the anti-terrorist operation. In August 2019, the 58th Brigade received another commander.

In February 2024, Drapatyi was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And in May 2024, he became the new commander of the Operational-Tactical Grouping of the Kharkiv troops, and later headed the Luhansk military training center.

As Zelensky notes, Drapatyi successfully organized the defense in the Kharkiv direction and thwarted the Russian offensive.

Until today, the post of commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was held by Oleksandr Pavlyuk, who was appointed in February of this year. The relevant decrees on the dismissal of Pavlyuk and the appointment of Drapatyi have already been published on the website of the Office of the President.

In addition, Oleh Apostol was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Colonel Oleh Apostol is the commander of the 95th separate Polish assault brigade, Hero of Ukraine, knight of the Cross of Combat Merit, full knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

He went through the battles for Slovyansk and Luhansk airport, and from the beginning of the large-scale invasion, he fought in the Mykolaiv region.

With the appointment to the post of commander of the 95th brigade of the DSHV, Colonel Apostol led the battles in Serebryansk and Kupyansk forestry, and now continues to organize defensive and offensive operations in Donetsk region and Luhansk region.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.