Ukraine has a brand new commander in chief, the 43-year-old brigadier common, Mykhailo Drapatyi.
His warfare observe document and fame for pushing for innovation have made him a public favourite.
His appointment comes amid days of political turmoil after the ousting of the favored protection minister.
Mykhailo Drapatyi, considered one of Ukraine’s youngest generals, is now the nation’s commander in chief, following the sacking of his predecessor, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed the 43-year-old Drapatyi after days of mass protests over the dismissal of the nation’s protection minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.
1000’s had gathered final week in Kyiv and different main cities to name for the reinstatement of the 35-year-old Fedorov, seen as a champion of the direly wanted modernization of Ukraine’s navy.
Their calls for included the firing of Syrskyi, who oversaw a number of main victories in opposition to Russia however is criticized as an old-guard, Soviet-style chief who blocked wanted change and reportedly clashed with Fedorov, resulting in the younger minister’s removing.
Conversely, Drapatyi is among the warfare’s hottest generals, belonging to a youthful era of officers who climbed the ranks whereas combating Russia after its 2014 invasion of Crimea.
The brand new navy chief is broadly considered a disciplined commander who defies the Ukrainian navy’s Soviet-rooted tradition whereas pushing for tactical innovation, drone warfare, recruiting reforms, and accountability amongst management.
Fedorov was publicly praised for doing the identical, so pundits have usually described the 2 as excellent companions for reshaping Ukraine’s navy right into a extra NATO-aligned, tech-savvy pressure able to beating Moscow.
“Drapatyi is the only option of these talked about within the media,” Mykola Bielieskov, senior analyst for Ukraine’s largest navy crowdfunding group, ComeBackAlive, instructed Enterprise Insider.
The ‘flying BMP’ commander
Drapatyi first drew consideration in 2014 when combating pro-Russian separatists in Mariupol as a battalion commander. A significant on the time, he’d been despatched to rescue law enforcement officials surrounded by armed militants within the metropolis.
Drapatyi led a column of 4 infantry combating autos and ordered the driving force of his BMP to cost headlong right into a barricade, sending the automobile careening over the barrier and smashing via to clear the best way.
A video clip of the incident went viral, turning Drapatyi into a star for his “flying BMP” second at a time when Ukraine’s forces had been nonetheless discovering their footing.
A month later, he famously led 260 Ukrainian troops and 30 autos to interrupt out of a Russian encirclement in Luhansk. After days of being trapped underneath artillery fireplace, the Ukrainians fought their manner by evening via some 24 miles of enemy territory, shedding one soldier within the course of.
Drapatyi climbed steadily via Ukraine’s ranks afterward and was promoted to brigadier common in December 2021. Three months later, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started.
Drapatyi was 40 when the total warfare started, and has held discipline instructions in Kherson, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and the Donbas. He took half in Ukraine’s main 2022 counteroffensive to liberate its southern territories and was later referred to as the overall to name when a part of the entrance line was vulnerable to collapsing.
Bielieskov mentioned that Drapatyi is revered amongst Ukrainian troops as a “first rate officer” who stabilized the Kharkiv and Pokrovsk fronts in 2024.
His appointment was a step by Zelenskyy towards defusing public furor over Fedorov’s removing, Bielieskov added.
The protection minister place has been given, for now, to Yevhen Khmara, who beforehand led Ukraine’s safety service. However mass protests proceed, with demonstrators nonetheless demanding Fedorov’s reinstatement.
“Now it is about workforce, particularly who’s to be Chief of Basic Employees. And who the MOD chief would ultimately be,” Bielieskov mentioned.
Ukraine’s twin mavericks
A significant choice that earned Drapatyi recognition was his resignation as chief of Ukraine’s floor forces in June 2025, when a Russian strike killed 12 troopers and wounded about 60 others at a Ukrainian navy base.
Drapatyi, who took the submit eight months earlier than, mentioned he would relinquish his position to take private duty for the deaths, describing it as a stand in opposition to Ukrainian navy tradition the place accountability from high management was uncommon.
Two days later, nonetheless, Zelenskyy assigned Drapatyi command of Ukraine’s joint forces, a task the brigadier common held till his appointment as commander in chief.
Folks protest in opposition to the dismissal of Protection Minister Mykhailo Fedorov by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Paula Bronstein/Getty Photos
That fame and observe document made Drapatyi a favourite candidate amongst Fedorov’s supporters for the very best navy command, who see each males as a dream workforce of types who may maximize Ukraine’s possibilities of defeating Russia.
The pair have voiced help for one another of their respective roles, with Drapatyi endorsing Fedorov shortly after the previous protection minister’s ousting.
“There’s a willingness to take heed to commanders, make choices sooner, and help adjustments which are born within the items,” Drapatyi wrote on Thursday of the protection ministry underneath Fedorov. “That is precisely how this interplay ought to be.”
In the meantime, Fedorov, whose political reputation has surged since his removing, known as Drapatyi’s appointment a “breath of recent air.”
Final week, he’d named the brigadier common as one of many high commanders who repeatedly clashed with Syrskyi over what Drapatyi felt had been needed adjustments within the navy.
Bielieskov warned that the appointment will not change the truth that Ukraine faces deep, systemic challenges Drapatyi must deal with, reminiscent of a battle to recruit troopers, incomplete organizational reforms on the corps degree, and a scarcity of expert personnel in some roles.
“Regardless of reputation, the administration of warfare could be a problem,” Bielieskov mentioned.
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