KYIV — After a week of nationwide protests over the direction of Ukraine's military strategy in the ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian military has a new armed forces commander, Mykhailo Drapatyi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Drapatyi to replace military chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he fired late Tuesday.
"There is a difficult task ahead, so we are not making loud promises," Drapatyi wrote in a Facebook post after his appointment was announced. "We are working with responsibility for our decisions and for the people who hold the front line and help Ukraine stand firm."
The 43-year-old major general, widely viewed as a reformer, takes the reins at a time of political and military transition in Ukraine. He is also the face of a younger, post-Soviet generation of military leaders in Ukraine who are adapting more quickly to a tech-focused approach to the battlefield.
Drapatyi helped develop the use of the "drone line," which involves creating a "kill zone" near the front line filled with drones that attack and surveil. He takes over from the 60-year-old Syrskyi, a mastermind of traditional warfare who came under fire after clashing with the country's tech-savvy former defense minister.
Zelenskyy praised Syrskyi for "delivering results for Ukraine," defending Kyiv early in the Russian full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022, and liberating parts of northeastern Ukraine later that year.
"We have come a long way," Zelenskyy said in a video address. "Ukraine's defense continues, and every warrior must be treated with dignity."
Syrsykyi's dismissal comes after Zelenskyy's latest government reshuffle, which sparked mass protests across the country after he removed the popular, technology-focused defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, on July 15.
One protester in Kyiv, 42-year-old Mila Timchenko, said Syrskyi was experienced and integral to Ukraine's defense early in the war, "but times have changed, the way wars are being fought has changed."
Fedorov, 35, has been credited with pushing a drone-focused strategy that has turned the tide against a much larger and better-resourced Russia in a full-scale war that has lasted more than four years.
Over the last few months, Ukraine has used its own long-range drones to repeatedly strike Russia's oil and gas facilities, causing fuel shortages. It has developed mid-range drones to attack supply routes for the Russian army in occupied parts of Ukraine, as well as vessels from Russia's shadow fleet in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian drones intercept the attack drones Russia launches at Ukrainian cities nearly every night. And land drones, or unmanned ground vehicles, are replacing infantry on the frontline.
The value of drones
Speaking to reporters last week, Zelenskyy said Fedorov and Syrskyi clashed frequently over defense priorities and reforms. The tension exposed a generational divide between a tech-savvy drone evangelist and a Soviet-educated, battle-hardened traditionalist.
Rob Lee, a Kyiv-based military analyst and former U.S. Marine officer, says Syrskyi may have had old-school ideas but he also saw the value of drones in modern warfare.
"It's kind of become this narrative of pro-drone versus anti-drone, but I don't think that's completely fair here," Lee told NPR. "I think Fedorov wanted to move faster with reforms, and clearly Syrskyi did not want to move as fast."
Fedorov said in a press conference last week that Syrskyi and the military establishment that backs him were slow to adopt tech-driven initiatives and blocked reforms on procuring arms.
"This is a culture that has developed throughout the system, and it must simply be eradicated," Fedorov said. "Otherwise, we will not be able to defeat an enemy whose system is afflicted with the same problems."
The new military chief succeeds a Soviet-trained general
Syrskyi was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces in February 2024, after Zelenskyy fired Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the popular former military chief with whom the president had clashed on military strategy and the mobilization of soldiers.
Syrskyi, who was promoted from his position as the head of Ukraine's ground forces, was admired for his dedication and hard work, but like many of Ukraine's older generals, was educated in the Soviet system, which emphasizes a top-down, rigid adherence to doctrine. Some soldiers called Syrskyi "The Butcher" because of a brutal battle of attrition that took place in 2023, when he led land forces and the Ukrainian army tried to defend — and ultimately lost — the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
On Monday, Syrskyi defended himself in a post on a military website. He said he had no beef with Fedorov and even offered an apology for any personal conflicts. He said he was at war with Russia, not the Defense Ministry.
On Wednesday, he wrote on social media that he was "relinquishing" his post and listing the accomplishments under his command. "I have said this before, and I repeat it today: my job is war," he wrote. "Positions change, but this principle remains the same. No matter what status I hold, I will serve Ukraine until victory."
The new military chief, Drapatyi, praised Fedorov in a Facebook post after the former defense minister's dismissal. He said Fedorov promoted initiatives that allowed for quicker decision-making and strategizing.
"The military needs change but without justice, no change will make sense to the people who carry this war on their shoulders every day," Drapatyi wrote.
The Kremlin shrugs
Drapatyi became a hero in 2014, when Russian-backed proxies tried to occupy the southeastern port city of Mariupol. Then a soldier commanding a battalion in the 72nd brigade, he led an armored vehicle through a Russian barricade.
He rose through the ranks to become, in 2024, the youngest commander of land forces. A champion of accountability for himself and the military overall, he submitted his resignation the following year, after a Russian attack on an army training center. "An army in which no one is held accountable is dying from within," he said then.
That sense of accountability made him popular among soldiers, says Lee, the military analyst, as did Drapatyi's interest in listening — and learning from — younger soldiers.
"We're going to see this kind of generational shift happen," he said. "Though Drapatyi will have a lot on his plate," including the fraught issue of mobilization reform.
The Kremlin seemed to shrug off both Syrskyi's firing and Drapatyi's appointment, though Russian state media reported that authorities issued an arrest warrant for Drapatyi just hours after his appointment.
"I don't think it will lead to any changes," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said of Drapatyi's appointment. "The dynamics on the fronts are well known: our Armed Forces continue their offensive operations across the entire width of the front."
Russia is now striking Ukrainian cities with more ballistic missiles. Ukraine has developed drones and electronic warfare to thwart nearly all attack drones but not fast-moving missiles. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 16,000 civilians have been confirmed as killed by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Protests continue
Meanwhile, protests are set to continue outside Zelenskyy's office. Protest organizer Dmytro Koziatynskyi, who is also a veteran, wrote on social media that protesters won't stop unless Zelenskyy reappoints Fedorov as defense minister.
For now, Zelenskyy has offered Fedorov another position in the government focused on strengthening the tech sector, but Fedorov says he is only willing to work as defense minister.
Writing on social media, Fedorov said he had called Syrskyi to thank him for his service, and that he welcomed Drapatyi's appointment.
"This is a new era and a new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice," Fedorov wrote. "It is a voice of change that could not be ignored."
NPR's Charles Maynes contributed to this report from Moscow. Polina Lytvynova contributed from Kyiv.
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