President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that he is dismissing the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky and his position will be filled by the Commander of the Joint Forces Mykhailo Drapaty.
Mykhailo Drapaty is the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was the deputy chief of the General Staff.
Zelensky and Drapaty, together with the team, have already defined the tasks of the Ministry of Defense. At the same time, Acting Minister of Defense Yevhen Khmara, Drapaty and other commanders must prepare an updated Ukrainian defense strategy and steps to continue the reform of the corps system. Among the tasks are to close the sky from strikes and "give a real vision of the mobilization process".
In his address, Zelensky said that he had offered former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov “a worthy position in power”. According to him, it would allow him to unite the technological component and develop it.
Mykhailo Drapaty reacted to his appointment and thanked the president for his trust and the defense minister for his support. He also expressed gratitude to Oleksandr Syrsky, whom he replaced in the position, for his "consistent work on strengthening the Ukrainian army".
Who is Mykhailo Drapaty?
Mykhailo Drapaty is a combat general and a holder of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He became famous after a video of an infantry fighting vehicle breaking through a Russian barricade in Mariupol in May 2014. Drapaty was the crew commander of this infantry fighting vehicle.
During the full-scale war, Drapaty participated in the de-occupation of Kherson and led the Kharkiv operational tactical group during the offensive on Vovchansk and Kupyansk, and later led the Luhansk operational tactical group.
In November 2024, Drapaty headed the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and renewed more than half of the leadership of the Central Military District. However, on June 1, 2025, after the death of 13 servicemen in a missile strike on a training ground in Sumy region, he resigned.
Already on June 3, 2025, Drapaty was appointed Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Following the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on July 15, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported his resignation. This sparked a wave of protests in various cities in Ukraine, which have been going on for six days. Protesters demanded that Syrsky be removed from office and Fedorov be reinstated.
- After his resignation, Fedorov reported a conflict with Syrsky and said that he had blocked the initiatives of the Ministry of Defense. Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that their conflict was "systemic", while Syrsky called the claims about the dispute a surprise.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.