Ukrainian Army Chief of Staff Mykhailo Drapatyi (Photo: Visit Ukraine).
The rise to power of Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi in July came after President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed his predecessor Oleksandr Syrskyi, a figure unpopular with the public.
At age 43, General Dragatyi began his military career at 21 and rose through the ranks through his abilities on the battlefields since 2014. Before becoming Commander-in-Chief, he commanded the Joint Forces in the Kharkiv province. One of his main goals is to learn from military mistakes and eliminate a punitive military culture.
“An army where no one is held accountable for failure is destroying itself from within,” Dragatyi once stated. Since his appointment, the overall picture on the front lines seems to have improved.
The Kyiv Independent has compiled analysis from commanders and experts to assess General Drapatyi’s command style, achievements, and challenges, as he has not given interviews to the press since taking office.
Taking over a challenging war.
Drapatyi took office in July, a time when many perceived Ukraine’s war effort to be turning in a more positive direction. Russia’s advance had slowed, and Ukraine’s medium- and long-range offensives were putting strategic pressure on Moscow. However, depleted Patriot missile stocks and global supply shortages left Kyiv lacking a viable countermeasure against Russian ballistic missiles.
Russia’s summer offensive in Donetsk is also beginning to show results, with Moscow’s forces advancing deep into Kosnstantinovka and rendering cities within Ukraine’s “fortress ring” uninhabitable.
Ukraine’s most pressing challenge was manpower. Drapatyi inherited an army that was understaffed, stretched thin, and had virtually no strategic reserves. Gaps on the front lines were often filled by units of the Shock Forces, which suffered above-average losses and had a bad reputation for mistreating soldiers.
Immediately after taking office, Drapatyi ordered a review of manpower utilization and halted troop reinforcements for the largest assault regiments. Instead of disbanding them, he placed these units under the command of Ukraine’s strongest corps, assigning them offensive and rapid response tasks under direct supervision.
He also reorganized Ukraine’s defense system in fortified areas, entrusting the defense of the northern and southern fronts to the 3rd and 1st Corps – two of its most battle-hardened units. Many new faces were also appointed to key positions, despite initial reports of obstruction from the President’s Office.
Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, former chief of staff of an elite brigade, emphasized Drapatyi’s achievement in building strong relationships with President Zelensky and Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara, which he considered crucial for the war effort and military reform.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Mykhailo Dragatyi, during a meeting in Kyiv on July 20 (Photo: Reuters).
New leadership style: Decentralization and accountability.
The core of General Dragatyi’s approach was a new command style, combining centralized management and decentralization. He strengthened decentralization within the military, granting greater autonomy to field commanders.
“General Drapatyi is not afraid of competition; on the contrary, he creates conditions for subordinate units to maximize their capabilities, which is a very positive sign,” Krotevych commented .
In a September statement, Drapatyi affirmed that he would “not directly intervene in every specific battle or campaign,” but would “exercise command through defining strategic objectives, delegating authority where appropriate, demanding accountability at all levels, and expecting each commander to demonstrate initiative.”
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Drapatyi empowered subordinates and allowed them to make their own decisions, while cutting back on “barracks-style inspections” of frontline brigades. Instead, he focused on “command-by-objectives” and decentralized execution, which was welcomed by brigade commanders.
A deputy brigade commander in Donetsk revealed that under General Syrskyi, officers were often assigned impossible or suicidal tasks, forcing them to lie about tactical situations. However, just weeks after Drapatyi took office, field commanders were informed that they had the right to refuse to carry out impossible or inappropriate orders.
However, some units on the front lines have yet to feel the impact of these changes. A senior officer in Kharkiv said that “not much has changed” on the front.
Map of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk. Kyiv forces have recaptured several positions marked in purple during the counteroffensive codenamed Vivaldi (Photo: Kyiv Independent).
Challenges ahead
Over the next year, General Drapatyi faces a new offensive from Russia targeting areas of the Donetsk province still under Ukrainian control, particularly the “fortress belt” of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The second challenge is mitigating pressure from the Trump administration on the Ukrainian military. Drapatyi needs to prepare for disruptions in the supply of anti-aircraft missiles and unexplained malfunctions of Starlink and Starshield satellite internet equipment.
The third challenge is to continue reforming the Ukrainian army, eliminating the “culture of lies” that has taken root within the Ukrainian military, Krotevych emphasized.
General Dragatyi stated: “Leaders in the Ukrainian Armed Forces must tell the truth,” and need to “accept calculated risks and take responsibility for their decisions.”
Continuing military reforms and adopting NATO standards, particularly in training and post-combat evaluation, is absolutely essential. Ukraine’s regional training centers have long been criticized for their poor training quality.
Ultimately, one of the biggest challenges for Mr. Dragatyi is maintaining a delicate relationship with President Zelensky and the Presidential Office.
If General Dragatyi’s approval ratings continue to rise within the military and among the public, he risks being seen as a potential political rival, similar to the case of former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who is currently Ukraine’s ambassador to London and is considered a key opponent of Zelensky in a potential election.