Drapatyi is new Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Ukraine – Zelenskyy
The current commander of the Joint Forces Group, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, will become Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, replacing Oleksandr Syrskyi.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this, Censor.NET reports.
What is known?
"I have decided that Mykhailo Drapatyi will become the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together with Mykhailo, Yevhen Khmara and Pavlo Palisa, we determined how the configuration of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be updated. It is a fact that Oleksandr Syrskyi delivered results for Ukraine in the defence of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive operation and the Kursk operation. We have come a long way, Ukraine’s defence continues, and every warrior must be treated with dignity. I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and every one of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong positions on the front line. I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for precisely this approach. Today, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Andrii Hnatov and I discussed their future formats of service and the proper handover of responsibilities," he said in an address on 21 July.
Background
- Earlier, the General Staff said media reports about Syrskyi’s dismissal were untrue and that he and Hnatov continued to perform their duties.
- For his part, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak claimed that Zelenskyy was preparing to dismiss Syrskyi, with Apostol, Drapatyi, Biletskyi, Obolienskyi and Horbatiuk among his possible successors.
- On 20 July, Zelenskyy held meetings with commanders. He had already spoken with Prokopenko, commander of the Azov 1st Corps of the National Guard; Apostol, commander of the Air Assault Forces; Obolienskyi, commander of the Khartiia 2nd Corps of the National Guard; Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and others.
- On 21 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
