In mid-July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the popular 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister. Fedorov had been determined to stamp out bribery in government procurement, while his approach to the war differed sharply from that of the armed forces' 60-year-old commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Protests broke out across most Ukrainian-held cities, with demonstrators demanding Fedorov's reinstatement as defense minister and Syrskyi's dismissal. Under public pressure, Zelensky partly relented: he removed Syrskyi but offered Fedorov the post of deputy prime minister. Fedorov refused, saying he would return only as defense minister.
Zelensky Relents – Partly
On 17 July, Zelensky proposed to parliament that Yevhenii Khmara, the acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), serve as interim defense minister. Ukraine therefore remains without a permanent defense minister, just as it currently lacks a permanent foreign minister.
Khmara is a largely unknown figure because of the nature of his work. In contrast, Syrskyi's successor, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, is well known to both the public and frontline troops and is widely respected by both. The demonstrations have continued, though they now focus exclusively on Fedorov, as protesters appear satisfied with Zelensky's choice of commander-in-chief.
Syrskyi, an ethnic Russian born in Russia and known as Aleksandr Sirskiy before acquiring Ukrainian citizenship, earned the nickname "the Butcher" for his willingness to accept heavy casualties during offensive operations. Drapatyi, an ethnic Ukrainian, has spent much of his career challenging Soviet-style military thinking. Fedorov likewise advocated a more technologically advanced approach to the war, modeled on the successful integration of robotic systems by frontline units. Many therefore expect Drapatyi to pursue a similar course.
Drapatyi’s War Began in Mariupol
From 2014 to 2022, Russia waged a hybrid war in eastern Ukraine. Rather than deploying regular troops wearing Russian insignia, Moscow relied on proxy forces led by Russian operatives to support pro-Kremlin separatists.
Kyiv responded to the unrest in parts of eastern Ukraine by launching the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in April 2014. It was replaced by the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in April 2018, which in turn ended with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In May 2014, Drapatyi commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, which took part in the rescue of besieged police officers in Mariupol. It was during that operation that the famous "flying BMP" footage was recorded, showing an armored vehicle smashing through a separatist barricade and leading a convoy out of the encirclement. Drapatyi himself commanded the BMP-2K in the video.
A Commander the Troops Trust
"The moment the driver hesitated when he saw the barricade ahead, the future Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine calmly and confidently ordered: 'Dima, step on it!'" Denis Nikitin, founder and commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), which fights alongside Ukrainian forces, wrote on 22 July.
Artem Krasnolutskyi, commander of a military intelligence unit and one of hundreds of Russians serving in Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, also welcomed the appointment. He singled out Drapatyi's reputation as a military reformer.
"Ukrainian soldiers rightly hope for a definitive departure from Soviet methods, stronger offensive capabilities and, ultimately, success at the operational, tactical and strategic levels", Krasnolutskyi wrote on 22 July.
When Ukrainian Militant, one of the country's best-known military channels, asked subscribers on 20 July whom they supported, 7,000 of almost 9,000 respondents chose Drapatyi. The channel says serving Ukrainian troops make up half its subscribers. Andriy Biletsky, founder of the Azov Battalion and commander of the 3rd Army Corps, came second.
"I will not congratulate you – there is nothing to congratulate you on. Instead, I want to thank you for accepting this thankless position at such a difficult time for the country. The army faces serious problems and needs fundamental systemic reform. I believe we will succeed. Undoubtedly, through our joint efforts", Biletsky's deputy, Major Dmytro Kukharchuk, wrote addressing Drapatyi on 22 July.
Kukharchuk was probably referring to reforms aimed at reducing Ukrainian casualties. The 3rd Army Corps, which holds more than 10% of the front line, has pioneered the use of robotic systems on the battlefield. Its growing reliance on automated systems has significantly reduced its own losses while enabling it to inflict more casualties on Russian forces than any other Ukrainian formation.
A Threat to Russia
Drapatyi was born in western Ukraine and graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Troops in 2004. He began his military career as a lieutenant in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, based in Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, where he and his wife raised their two children.
After the successful Mariupol operation in May 2014, Drapatyi and other Ukrainian units were encircled that summer in what became known as the Southern, or Izvaryne, Pocket. Ukraine lost 120 soldiers, 26 tanks, 144 infantry fighting vehicles and almost 50 other pieces of heavy military equipment.
Drapatyi's battalion, comprising more than 260 soldiers and 30 vehicles, broke through the encirclement. The unit fought its way across 160 km of enemy-held territory under fire and reached safety after losing just one soldier. Other Ukrainian formations trapped in the pocket, acting on the orders of less decisive commanders, destroyed their equipment and weapons before surrendering.
Drapatyi continued fighting Russian-backed separatists. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, he was serving as deputy commander of the Joint Forces Operation. In March that year, he became commander of the Southern Operational Group and halted the Russian advance towards Kryvyi Rih.
In the fall of 2022, as commander of the Kherson Operational Group, he took part in the operation that drove Russian forces from the western bank of the Dnieper river in the Kherson region. In May 2024, he halted the Russian advance near Vovchansk, which Ukrainian forces, assisted by the Russian Volunteer Corps, finally recaptured for Kyiv in September 2024.
In November 2024, Drapatyi was appointed commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. After a Russian strike on a military training center in June 2025 killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers and wounded dozens more, he submitted his resignation, saying he felt personally responsible for the tragedy:
"An army in which commanders bear personal responsibility for people's lives is a living force. An army in which no one is responsible for casualties dies from within."
His resignation shocked many Ukrainians. Soon afterwards, he was appointed to the less prominent but more operationally focused post of commander of the Joint Forces.
Drapatyi's record has also attracted close attention in Russia.
"Drapatyi replaced Syrskyi. He is a very capable general and not a butcher. This is bad news for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation", war blogger Maxim Kalashnikov wrote on his channel on 21 July.
"Drapatyi is only 43 years old and began this war as a battalion commander. That is bad for us", Russian blogger Yuri Podolyaka wrote the same day.
The Russian Telegram channel Obsessed with War, which has more than 600,000 subscribers, described Drapatyi as a dangerous enemy with a formidable military record.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's new commander-in-chief set out his priorities on social media:
"The President of Ukraine has set clear goals for us: to continue and intensify offensive operations in all areas, to plan new operations behind enemy lines, to develop our army and its technology, and to build the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine".
