President appoints Mykhailo Drapatyi as new Commander of Land Forces

The Head of State announced this in his Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

“Together with the Commander-in-Chief, we made several personnel decisions for our army. Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed the new Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleh Apostol has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Zelensky said.

The President added that Major General Drapatyi successfully organized the defense in the Kharkiv sector and disrupted the offensive of Russian forces. Colonel Apostol is an experienced commander of the 95th separate air assault brigade. Both have proven their effectiveness in combat.

“The main task is to significantly increase the combat capability of our army, ensure the quality of training and introduce innovative approaches to human resources management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian army needs internal changes to fully achieve the goals of our state,” the Head of State noted.

During the meeting, Chief of Staff Oleksandr Syrskyi reported separately on the situation at the front and in the areas of the Kursk operation.

The meeting also focused on eliminating the consequences of Russian strikes and protecting facilities.

“All responsible leaders and commanders reported. Restoration work is underway in the regions. I have set a task to strengthen air defense and relevant negotiations with partners,” Zelensky said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Oleksandr Pavliuk has been the commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since February 2024.

In February 2024, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Military Training. In May 2024, he became the new commander of the Kharkiv operational and tactical group of troops, and later headed the Luhansk operational and tactical group of troops. Drapatyi took part in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. He began his combat career as the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade.

Since 2014, Colonel Oleh Apostol has been participating in combat operations in eastern Ukraine. After the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he participated in the liberation of settlements in Mykolaiv region, during which a lot of enemy equipment was destroyed and captured. Since the end of 2022, units under Apostol's leadership have been performing successful defensive and assault operations in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions. As of February 2024, he was the commander of the 95th separate airborne assault brigade. Since August 2024, he participated in the operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.