"Serving Ukraine has always been an honor for me, and during a war for independence, it means absolute responsibility." These words appeared in Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi's first statement after his appointment as Ukraine's new commander-in-chief.  

His appointment came after six days of protests against the resignation of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and in support of the dismissal of Oleksandr Syrskyi, who has been criticized for his Soviet-rooted command style.

"I thank the President of Ukraine for the trust, the Defense Minister for the support, and the Defense Forces for a new stage of service," Drapatyi wrote.

He also said that he is grateful to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi for his consistent efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian army.

"I grew up in it. I will work responsibly, with focus, and with respect for the people who defend our state today. Glory to the nation. Death to the enemies," he claimed.

Zelenskyy announced the appointment on 21 July, the most significant shake-up of Ukraine's military leadership since the full-scale invasion began. The 43-year-old Drapatyi was the protesters' favored candidate — and his biography explains why.

Drapatyi's full-scale war began inside flying BMP

Drapatyi's path started in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. In May 2014, at the start of Russia's aggression, he commanded the brigade's 2nd Battalion during the operation to free hostages in Mariupol, per RBC-Ukraine.

The famous "flying BMP" video comes from that fight with an infantry fighting vehicle that rammed a barricade of pro-Russian militants at speed and leaped over it. Drapatyi gave the order for that assault from inside the vehicle.

That summer, his unit was caught in a fire pocket near the border in Luhansk Oblast. Under prolonged artillery fire from Russian territory, Drapatyi took responsibility and led 260 soldiers and more than 30 vehicles out of the "Izvaryne cauldron", covering 160 kilometers under fire.

He later commanded the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade in Avdiivka and on the Bakhmut highway, and was awarded the British Queen's transferable sword as the best graduate of the National Defense University.

He stopped Russia at Kryvyi Rih and helped free Kherson

In March 2022, he took over the "South" operational grouping, which stopped the Russian advance on Kryvyi Rih. In the fall of 2022, he led the "Kherson" grouping during the successful operation to liberate the right bank of Kherson Oblast.

In May 2024, he took command of the "Kharkiv" operational-tactical group as Russia opened its new offensive and stopped the threat near Vovchansk. Then, Zelenskyy singled him out when appointing him commander of the Land Forces in November 2024.

Under his later Joint Forces command, Ukrainian units, including the Khartiia Brigade, recaptured swathes of territory around Kupiansk.

He once resigned to take responsibility for the killed soldiers. In June 2025, Drapatyi submitted his resignation as Land Forces commander after Russian strikes on Ukrainian training centers hit the defenders. But after a conversation with the president, he moved to command the Joint Forces instead.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, commented on Telegram on the appointment of Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi as commander-in-chief.

On 21 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Drapatyi will replace Oleksandr Syrskyi, with the General Staff's configuration to be renewed in the most significant shake-up of Ukraine's military leadership since the full-scale war began, following six days of nationwide protests.

A person's calling, Zaluzhnyi wrote, is filled above all with moral principles and values that form honor, "which is dearer than any posts and awards." Those who think and act otherwise, he added, "will always, sooner or later, receive shame."

The words carry the weight of the author's own history. Zaluzhnyi was himself dismissed as commander-in-chief by Zelenskyy in February 2024, at the height of his popularity with no public explanation, and replaced by Syrskyi — the man now removed. He commented on the change from London, where Zelenskyy sent him as ambassador to the UK.

"Much harder than he imagines"

Zaluzhnyi's message to his successor's successor is a warning wrapped in confidence.

"It will be very hard for the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Much harder than he imagines. But Mykhailo will certainly never be ashamed. A man of honor has no idol, so he has nothing to lose. The only thing he has is duty," Zaluzhnyi wrote.

Honor, he said, "creates ideas and seeks ways to realize them. And it is this that drives one to seek people who will carry their heavy cross with you, with honor."

Drapatyi inherits reformist mandate and strained army

Drapatyi, 43, arrives as the protesters' candidate. Demonstrators, soldiers, and veterans widely viewed the Joint Forces Commander and former Land Forces chief as the leading choice to replace Syrskyi, whose centralized, Soviet-rooted command style drew criticism for micromanagement and, some soldiers said, unjustifiably high losses.

Drapatyi is seen as a general of a new generation.

He had also aligned himself publicly with the reform camp whose defeat triggered the crisis. Drapatyi praised dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov's six months at the ministry as a genuine effort to change long-standing military rules. 

"The military needs change, but without justice, no change will make sense to the people who carry this war on their shoulders every day," he warned.

Zelenskyy thanked Syrskyi for delivering results in the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv counteroffensive, and the Kursk operation. The protests that ran from 16 to 21 July had demanded both Fedorov's reinstatement and Syrskyi's removal. Whether the first follows remains the open question of the reshuffle.