Two and a half months in: how Drapatiy is reshaping Ukraine's military command
Following summer protests in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed 43-year-old Mykhailo Drapatiy as Ukraine's new commander-in-chief, who has since launched sweeping personnel changes and shifted toward decentralized command. Officers describe the new approach with one word: "freedom".
In July, as protesters gathered outside Ukraine's presidential office in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky spent several days meeting with corps and group commanders to discuss the frontline situation. According to sources, he had already decided on a new commander-in-chief: 43-year-old Mykhailo Drapatiy, who replaced Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that Syrskyi had systematically sidelined potential rivals, limiting Drapatiy's authority within the Joint Forces Command. A third candidate, Air Assault Forces commander Oleh Apostol, reportedly declined the position himself.
A broad personnel purge
Since mid-August, Drapatiy has reassigned several dozen officers to reserve battalions — effectively dismissing them — including corps commanders Oleksiy Maistrenko and Oleksandr Bakulin, and missile and artillery forces commander Andriy Malinovskyi. In a single day, around 15 officers were dismissed from the General Staff's international cooperation department.
At the same time, officers previously pushed aside have been reinstated. Serhiy Sobko now serves at the General Staff, while Emil Ishkulov commands the 11th Corps, responsible for defending Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Several senior posts, including chief of the General Staff, have gone to officers from the air assault forces, though sources attribute this to professional qualifications rather than political considerations.
Uncertainty over assault regiments
An unresolved issue concerns the assault regiments built up under Syrskyi — recruitment has been paused and personnel reassigned elsewhere. The move has been met with hostility within those units, while commanders of other formations say personnel distribution has become fairer.
Decentralizing command
Commanders describe Drapatiy's opening months with one word: "freedom". Unlike his predecessor's micromanagement, the new commander-in-chief issues tasks through the operational command hierarchy rather than directly. Drapatiy has so far avoided publicity, reportedly preferring to speak once concrete results are visible.
