Ukraine’s New Army Chief Once Rammed a BMP Through a Barricade—Now He Leads 700 km² of Liberated Ground

Ukraine’s new top military commander is a battle-hardened general who once drove an armored personnel carrier through a militant barricade in Mariupol. Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, replacing the previous leadership in a major military shake-up [203104]. Known for his aggressive front-line tactics, Drapatyi helped stop Russian forces near Kryvyi Rih and held the line in Vovchansk, and his promotion signals a shift toward more experienced, hands-on leadership as the war enters a new phase [203061].

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also appointed Andrii Skybiuk as the new head of the General Staff, serving under Drapatyi. Skybiuk’s first directive is to modernize Ukraine’s armed forces while maintaining their current defensive positions, reflecting a dual challenge of adapting to evolving battlefield technology and preserving territorial gains [203051].

The outgoing former top general left with a bold claim: Ukrainian forces have liberated 700 square kilometers of territory so far this year. “I said it before, and I repeat it today: my work is war. Posts change, but this principle does not,” he said in a statement. “In whatever status I am, I will serve Ukraine until Victory” [203059].

Ukraine’s acting Defense Minister, Khmara, announced a new military approach after meeting with Drapatyi. The plan focuses on scaling up both deep and medium-range strikes against Russian forces. Officials say the goal is to increase pressure on Moscow while reducing risks to Ukrainian troops, relying more on long-range weapons than on direct ground assaults [203057].

Ukraine’s new mid-range strike drones are allowing its soldiers to “free hunt” Russian targets in areas far behind the front lines that Moscow once considered safe. These drones can fly up to 300 kilometers into enemy territory, attacking warehouses, vehicles, and command posts. One Ukrainian soldier described the operations as “quite easy” because the area is full of targets but has few defenses [200990].

Ukraine launched a new wave of massive strikes on warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, often called the “Russian Amazon,” at a moment of political turmoil in Kyiv following the dismissal of a popular defense minister and the replacement of the head of the country’s armed forces [202931]. More than 400 drones struck near Moscow in one of Ukraine’s largest attacks of the war, targeting an oil depot and logistics facilities located more than 250 miles from the Ukrainian border [200521].

A former top Ukrainian commander has issued a stark warning to the newly appointed army chief, stating that the challenges ahead will be “much harder than he imagines,” though adding that “Mykhailo will certainly never be ashamed” [201790].