President Volodymyr Zelenskiy named a young major general, Mykhailo Drapatyi, as the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military after days of street protests, marking the biggest shake-up in the country’s military leadership since its war with Russia began.
Zelenskiy replaced Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, with Drapatyi, 43, a respected and experienced commander who led the country’s land forces from 2024 to 2025 and is described as a general of a new generation.
Last week, Zelenskiy’s government reshuffle and dismissal of tech-savvy reformist Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, after just half a year in office, stirred concerns among analysts that Ukraine’s recent battlefield momentum could be lost.
Ukraine has been trying to gain the upper hand in the war by heavily striking Russia’s energy sector – its main source of budget revenue – and logistics.
“The operations of the Ukrainian Defence Forces are ongoing and must continue steadily. Ukraine’s plan for long-range sanctions and our programme of middle-range strikes will be carried out with absolute precision,” Zelenskiy said as he introduced Drapatyi.
The surprise government reshuffle last week led to a political crisis that exposed weaknesses in Ukraine’s domestic governing due to the lack of elections during the war.
Drapatyi’s appointment follows days of protests sparked by what critics said were poorly explained changes in government, and reflects the position of Ukrainians who see the use of technology as key to winning the war. His career was shaped fighting Russian troops for more than a decade.
Syrskyi played a key role in Kyiv’s defence in the early days of the war and has been in his post since early 2024.
But he has also faced harsh criticism for a rigid command style which some service members have said resulted in unjustifiably high troop losses.
Voices against him have surfaced periodically, but last week’s reshuffle brought out into the open the deep divisions in the Ukrainian defence leadership.
Critics had accused Zelenskiy of favouring Syrskyi over Fedorov in a conflict between the two, and analysts questioned whether Ukraine could win the war, now well into its fifth year, under Syrskyi’s leadership.
Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a war veteran and one of the organisers of the protests, said on X that Drapatyi’s appointment was a “gift”.
Fedorov’s fate remained unclear. Zelenskiy said that he offered him a “decent post” to oversee the technological component of the state, but the former minister has previously said that he only wants his old job back.
Last week, Zelenskiy chose Yevhenii Khmara, who was acting head of Ukraine’s domestic security service, to become acting defence minister. “We all want the same thing: to defeat the enemy and create the conditions – on the front line and through pressure on Russia – that would allow us to force Russia into peace,” Zelenskiy added.
l Russia said yesterday it had struck the Ukrainian cities of Odesa and Chornomorsk, hitting port infrastructure and vessels that it said were supporting the Ukrainian military.
Russia’s defence ministry said the latest strikes had targeted a dry-cargo ship unloading at Chornomorsk port, as well as a military cargo store and fuel and lubricant storage tanks.
It said it had also hit loading and storage facilities at Odesa, and a dry-cargo ship and a bulk carrier that were transporting cargo to Odesa for the Ukrainian military. Russian drones also hit three warehouses storing Ukrainian drones, the ministry added in a statement.
Reuters could not independently verify the content of the statement.
Nearly 4-1/2 years into the war, Russia and Ukraine have stepped up military activity in and around the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
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