Mykhailo Drapaty – Zelensky was appointed as the new commander of the Ground Forces

Mykhailo Drapaty has been appointed as the new commander of the Ground Forces, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced following the meeting of the Commander-in-Chief Staff.

“Together with the Central Committee, several personnel decisions were made for our army. Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed as the new commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleg Apostol has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Zelenskyi said.

The President noted that “currently, the main task is to increase the combat capability of our army. It is also necessary to ensure the quality of training of military personnel and to introduce innovative approaches to managing people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

In 2014, Drapaty was the commander of the 2nd mechanized battalion of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade. And since April of the same year, the 72nd OMBr was in full force in the east of Ukraine. Under his command, the 2nd battalion of the 72nd OMBr entered Mariupol in May 2014.

In 2016, he was appointed commander of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade (with headquarters in Konotop, Sumy region). Since the summer of 2017, Drapatiy has been in the zone of anti-terrorist operation, where he directed the actions of the 58th OMBR in the area of ​​the Bakhmut highway.

In 2019, he began a two-year course as a student at the National Defense University of Ukraine named after Ivan Chernyakhovsky. And until 2024, he headed the operational group “Kherson”.

He is known as one of the commanders who led the liberation of the right bank of the Kherson region. In February 2024, he was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. And in May, he was appointed as the commander of the “Kharkiv” OTUV at the beginning of April 2024.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed two deputies to the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umyerov. According to the agency, Serhiy Boyev has been appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration. In addition, Serhiy Melnyk was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Defense.