Mykhaylo Drapatyy has begun performing the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The major general reported this on Facebook.
Drapatyy thanked the president for supporting the decision to appoint Ihor Skybyuk as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Skybyuk previously headed the Air Assault Forces.
“I met Ihor Skybyuk in 2022 in southern Ukraine, when we directed the operation to liberate the Kherson Region from the same command post. Since then, I have known him as a commander you can trust in difficult circumstances and rely on for his decisions, experience, and inner principles,” Drapatyy noted.
The Commander-in-Chief said that under Skybyuk’s command in the Air Assault Forces, strong commanders emerged, including Oleh Apostol, Dmytro Voloshyn, Yevhen Lasiychuk, Svyatoslav Zayets, Emil Ishkulov, Andriy Tkachuk, and many others.
“A difficult job lies ahead, so we will work without loud promises, with responsibility for our decisions and respect for the people who hold the line and help Ukraine endure,” Drapatyy added.
President Zelenskyy has set clear tasks for the new command: to continue and intensify offensive actions, plan new operations behind enemy lines, and develop the military and its technologies.
What is known about the appointments of Drapatyy and Skybyuk?
- President Zelenskyy announced the appointment of Major General Drapatyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an address on the evening of 21 July. The head of state said he had held consultations with the military beforehand and formed a unified position.
- Drapatyy immediately commented on his appointment. He thanked Syrskyy for his “work to strengthen the Ukrainian military.” The major general stressed that “serving Ukraine has always been an honor for him.”
- On 22 July, the head of state announced the appointment of Major General Ihor Skybyuk as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the sequence of further steps had already been determined and that the decision to replace the leadership of the Armed Forces would soon be formalised.
Mykhaylo Drapatyy
After completing his studies in 2004, Lieutenant Mykhaylo Drapatyy began service in the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade.
In 2014, when Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine began, Major Drapatyy was commander of the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade. By mid-April 2014, the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade in full strength was in eastern Ukraine and ready to carry out combat missions.
In 2014, Drapatyy enrolled at the National Defence University. He later transferred to part-time study and returned to the ATO zone as chief of staff of the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade.
In August 2016, Mykhaylo Drapatyy was appointed commander of the 58th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade, which at the time was carrying out missions in Avdiyivka and the Yasynuvata district of Donetsk Region. In June 2014, he took part in a raid along the border with Russia, held Savur-Mohyla, and carried out a successful breakout through the “Izvaryne pocket.”
From 2017, Drapatyy served as a brigade commander directly in the ATO zone.
In April 2019, Drapatyy was prematurely awarded the next military rank of colonel. In August of the same year, he handed over the 58th Brigade to another commander and began two years of study as a student at the Ivan Chernyakhovskyy National Defence University of Ukraine.
Until January 2024, he headed the Kherson operational grouping. He is known as one of the commanders who led the liberation of the right bank of Kherson Region in 2022.
In February 2024, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for troop training.
In May 2024, Brigadier General Mykhaylo Drapatyy was appointed commander of the operational-tactical grouping of troops Kharkiv. It is noted that Major General Mykhaylo Drapatyy successfully organised the defence in the Kharkiv direction and thwarted an offensive operation by Russian forces.
On 29 November 2024, he was appointed Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He voluntarily resigned after a Russian strike on a Ground Forces training range.
In June 2025, he headed the Joint Forces.