Today, we will discuss how Ukraine’s youngest general stabilized the most difficult section of the frontline and how he was able to change the course of the Battle for Pokrovsk.
- Screenshot: Reporting From Ukraine
The situation before Drapatyi’s appointment: Russian advances and Ukrainian struggle
Here, nearly one year ago, the situation in the Pokrovsk direction took a dramatic turn, which resulted in Ukrainian forces facing months of relentless pressure after Russian breakthroughs. The Ukrainian forces in the entire Pokrovsk direction were at a constant defensive posture from May 2024 after the Russian breakthrough at Ocheretyne, which allowed them to push the Ukrainian forces back gradually along the entire contact line for months.
- Screenshot: Reporting From Ukraine
The Russian forces managed to overcome several lines of hastily prepared Ukrainian defenses, taking several large tactically important towns, including Selydove, Novohrodivka, Hrodivka, Ukrainsk, and Kurakhove. After their most significant gains in over two years, Russian forces closed in on Pokrovsk, the key objective of their offensive, putting Ukrainian defenders in a critical position.
Drapatyi’s leadership: Appointing a seasoned commander
Recognizing the urgency, the Ukrainian high command appointed General Mykhailo Drapatyi to take command of the Khortitsiya Group of Forces, tasked with stabilizing the front and shifting momentum in Ukraine’s favor. Drapatyi has a long military career full of combat experience from the very start of the first hostilities between the Ukrainian and pro-Russian separatists dating back to 2014.
- General Mykhailo Drapatyi. Photo via Reporting From Ukraine
During the First Battle of Mariupol in May 2014, he was the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, where he led an armored assault head-on in a BMP infantry fighting vehicle, enabling the Ukrainian forces to push the pro-Russian separatists from the second largest city of the Donetsk region.
Later, in the battle of Izvarino, where Ukrainians attempted to cut off the separatists from their Russian supply lines, Drapatyi reacted to the forming cauldron around Ukrainian forces timely enough that he was able to lead his men to break out successfully, without leaving behind any equipment, both bringing Drapatyi major recognition in the Ukrainian army.
By the start of the full-scale invasion, Drapatyi had risen quickly through the ranks, becoming a colonel by 2019 and a brigadier general by the end of 2021, making him the youngest general in the Ukrainian army. In one interview, he said that he was personally ready for a large-scale invasion. Later on, Drapatyi was assigned to the defense of Kharkiv after the Russian forces launched their counteroffensive in 2024.
Here, he effectively reorganized the communication structure between low-level commanders on the ground and the Ukrainian high command. These changes resulted in more accurate reporting on Russian forces’ concentrations, movements, and routes of attack and much-improved battle cohesion
that halted the Russian advance to Kharkiv City and allowed Ukrainians to retake and hold several crucial positions, where Ukrainians still stand to this day.
Strengthening Pokrovsk’s defenses: Preventing Russian breakthroughs
With all of Drapatyi’s competence as a commander considered, he was appointed to command the Ukrainian forces in the Pokrovsk area.
Under his leadership, Ukrainians launched an intense campaign targeting Russian logistics, as they identified several main logistics routes they used, turning them into roads of death for Russian soldiers trying to advance to Pokrovsk. This exponentially slowed down their deployment and inflicted heavy losses, as their combat capabilities deteriorated to the point where they were only able to send in small infantry groups at a time, which became smaller as Ukrainian logistics strikes continued.
In the meantime, Drapatyi deployed reserves to defend the directions on which the Russians focused most of their assaults. He rotated out several newly formed brigades, such as the 155th Anne of Kyiv brigade, so they could rearm and better prepare for frontline combat operations, replacing them with veteran and well-seasoned brigades to hold the line.
- Screenshot: Reporting From Ukraine
He also continued enhancing the ring of fortifications around Pokrovsk, which Russians have been unable to break through to date. As a result, Russian progress at Pokrovsk completely stalled, the rotated brigades, such as the Anne of Kyiv, were now effectively able to destroy Russian advances, and Ukrainians became more confident in their ability to defend this ever-so-important sector of the front line.
- Screenshot: Reporting From Ukraine
The outcome: Stabilizing Ukrainian defenses and depleting Russian forces
Overall, the appointment of Mykhailo Drapatyi as the commander of Ukrainian forces near Pokrovsk allowed Ukrainians to stabilize their defense of the area. Competent military leadership proved the key to Ukrainian success as the Russian combat capabilities were utterly depleted and their forces exhausted from months of grueling warfare.
In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
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