Drapatyi on Skybiuk’s appointment as Chief of General Staff: ’Commander who can be trusted in difficult circumstances’
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi welcomed the President’s decision to appoint Ihor Skybiuk as Chief of the General Staff.
He announced this on Facebook, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"I have assumed the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Major General Ihor Skybiuk, former commander of the Airborne Forces, will serve as Chief of the General Staff in my team. I thank the President of Ukraine for supporting this decision," he said.
Drapatyi on Skybiuk
"We met Ihor Skybiuk in 2022 in southern Ukraine, when we were directing the operation to liberate the Kherson region from a single command post. Since then, I have known him as a commander who can be trusted in difficult circumstances and whose decisions, experience and personal principles can be relied upon.
During his command of the Airborne Forces, strong commanders have emerged, including Oleh Apostol, Dmytro Voloshyn, Yevhen Lasiichuk, Sviatoslav Zaiets, Emil Ishkulov, Andrii Tkachuk and many others," said the new commander-in-chief.
According to Drapatyi, Zelenskyy has set clear objectives: to continue and intensify offensive operations across all domains, to plan new operations behind enemy lines, to develop the military and its technology, and to build up the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On 22 July, Skibyuk was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
New Cabinet and Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; Fedorov’s resignation
- On 14 July, the Verkhovna Rada supported a resolution on the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The entire Cabinet automatically resigned along with her.
- On 15 July, Mykhailo Fedorov announced that he was stepping down as Minister of Defence.
- Rallies in support of Mykhailo Fedorov took place in Dnipro, Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk, Cherkasy and other cities. Participants are protesting against his resignation.
- On 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint a new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Prime Minister is Serhii Koretskyi.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would nominate Yevhen Khmara for the post of Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Prior to this, he had instructed Khmara to act as head of the Ministry of Defence.
- Protests against Fedorov’s dismissal continued in Ukrainian cities. In addition to demanding that Fedorov be reinstated as Defence Minister, people called for the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
- On 21 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He appointed General Mykhailo Drapatyi in his place.
