Street pressure in Ukraine has worked again for the second time since Russia launched its major offensive in February 2022. Six days of demonstrations have finally led President Volodímir Zelenski to make a move amidst the biggest political and military crisis in over four and a half years. The new army chief, Mykhailo Drapaty, 43, has been head of the Ground Forces since late 2024. He is also considered a close associate of the deposed Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, whose departure triggered the wave of discontent over the second major government reform of the year and the fourth since 2022.
Something similar to what happened these days already occurred in the streets of different cities last July, when Zelenski had to back down after trying to sideline anti-corruption institutions while his closest circle was being investigated.
Appointed by the president on Tuesday night, Drapaty is also the favorite among those who have led the protests, which called for the removal of the current head of troops, Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60. Behind the scenes, the crisis involves Ukraine’s need to strengthen the modernization of its defense and security forces in the face of the Russian invasion, at a time when Kyiv’s troops are maintaining an offensive on the occupied Crimean peninsula and on Russian territory, especially against energy infrastructure.
Likewise, other pending issues will be to strengthen air defense, especially against Russian ballistic missiles, and to address the high number of desertions, as well as the refusal of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to legally respond to the army’s call to participate in the country’s defense.
Volodímir Zelenski appears, with 59%, fourth in the popularity ranking of politicians and public figures. Ahead of him are Syrskyi’s predecessor as army chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi (70%), now ambassador in London; Mykhailo Fedorov (65%); and the head of the presidential cabinet, Kyrylo Budanov (62%), according to data from a Rating Group survey conducted on Monday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 22. In the week of mobilizations, Fedorov’s popularity rose from 35% to 65%.
The president announced that he was replacing Syrskyi after the latter was accused by Fedorov in his first statements after being removed from office on July 15. Protesters see Syrskyi as a relic of Soviet times. The well-known battle between the Ministry and the army has resulted in the fall of its two top leaders, the veteran general and the young tech-savvy figure who has made drones Kyiv’s main weapon of defense and attack.
All of this is part of what Zelenski tries to justify as necessary reforms aimed at achieving victory against Moscow. The president has offered Fedorov a new mission in the government in line with his profile, which, so far, has not been accepted by the former minister. Fedorov’s position is only temporarily filled by Yevhen Khamara, which some interpret as leaving the door open for a possible return to the Ministry of Defense. In fact, demonstrations continue to be called to demand his return, according to local press. The former minister acknowledges that Drapaty brings “fresh air” and represents “a voice of change that cannot be ignored.”
The movements began with the replacement of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on July 12, which legally required the appointment of a new ministerial cabinet. The new executive, already approved by Parliament, where Zelenski’s party holds a majority, is led by engineer Sergii Koretskyi, who was previously responsible for the state energy company Naftogaz. This is the fourth major government reform Zelenski has faced since 2022; the last one was undertaken last January, when Fedorov arrived at Defense.
Drapaty, besides being very popular, is a seasoned military man since the beginning of the war in 2014. He is considered a reformist capable of revitalizing the army. His name has been voiced by protesters who, in turn, have called for Syrskyi’s removal in recent days during rallies in the capital and other cities. The number two, as announced by Zelenski this Wednesday, will be Major General Ihor Skybiuk, Drapaty’s offensive comrade on some fronts.
The new head of the Armed Forces has become known for being one of the heroes of the defense of Mariupol 12 years ago, now occupied by the Russians since 2022. The image of an armored personnel carrier flying the Ukrainian flag with Drapaty at the helm jumping over pro-Russian barricades on one of the avenues of that city is one of the videos considered military history of the country.
In those early years, he led resistance operations in different enclaves of Donbas, where the volatile regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are located, still in intense dispute today. In 2022, under the great Russian invasion orchestrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, he stopped the invaders near Kryvyi Rih, Zelenski’s hometown, before participating in the autumn counter-offensive that expelled the Russians to the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region. In November 2024, he led the resistance of troops in Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, when he was appointed commander of the Ground Forces.
“The President of Ukraine has assigned us clear tasks: to continue and strengthen offensive operations in all areas, to plan new operations behind enemy lines, to develop the army and its technology, and to strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” explains the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces in a statement. “Difficult work lies ahead, so we are working without remarkable promises,” adds Drapaty.
Syrskyi boasts
In his farewell, Oleksandr Syrskyi boasts about his service record since Russia began invading Ukraine in 2014. He lists one by one the achievements the army has made under his leadership since February 2024. He particularly highlights that he inherited defensive troops from his predecessor, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and leaves office with offensive troops. In total, he estimates that his men have recaptured a total of 743 square kilometers of territory from the invaders so far in 2026. Syrskyi also emphasizes the creation – “the first in the world” – of a special command dedicated exclusively to the use of drones and another composed solely of interceptor forces for these unmanned aerial vehicles with which the enemy also fights.
“For a long time, they tried to impose on us that Ukrainians are not capable of fighting. We have shown that this is not the case. Ukraine is defended by a heroic people,” he concludes, emphasizing the importance of the army’s role for the country’s survival.
General Syrskyi also boasts of other successes achieved under his command, such as the defense of Kyiv in the first weeks of the offensive launched by the Kremlin in February 2022; the counter-offensive in Kharkiv in September of that year; the halt of the Kremlin’s offensive on the Sumy region, simultaneously invading part of the Russian Kursk region; the neutralization of Wagner mercenaries, an important part of the Russian army; and the “difficult” decision to withdraw his soldiers from besieged Avdiivka to save lives.
Syrskyi also refers to the achievement of closing the Russian port of Novorossiysk, in the Black Sea, and the siege of Russian ships that make up the ghost fleet with which they try to evade sanctions. In fact, more than a dozen ships have been attacked in the last two days in the Black Sea and the neighboring Sea of Azov, according to Robert Brovdi, commander of the aforementioned army drone unit. Zelenski has also reported new attacks in two regions of Russian territory, Krasnodar and Stavropol, hitting a logistics center for drone manufacturing and other military equipment, as well as an oil facility.
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