"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.
