Protests erupted in Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine’s protection minister. He was credited with bringing know-how enhancements to Ukraine’s army.
Paula Bronstein for NPR
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Paula Bronstein for NPR
KYIV — After every week of nationwide protests over the path of Ukraine’s army technique within the ongoing battle with Russia, the Ukrainian army has a brand new armed forces commander, Mykhailo Drapatyi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Drapatyi to switch army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he fired late Tuesday.
“There’s a troublesome process forward, so we don’t make loud guarantees,” Drapatyi wrote in a Fb put up after his appointment was introduced. “We’re working with duty for our choices and for the individuals who maintain the entrance line and assist Ukraine stand agency.”
On this photograph offered by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Workplace, new commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi appears to be like on throughout his assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 20, 2026.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Workplace/AP
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Ukrainian Presidential Press Workplace/AP
The 43-year-old main normal, broadly seen as a reformer, takes the reins at a time of political and army transition in Ukraine. He’s additionally the face of a youthful, post-Soviet era of army leaders in Ukraine who’re adapting extra shortly to a tech-focused strategy to the battlefield.
Drapatyi helped develop using the “drone line,” which includes making a “kill zone” close to the entrance line crammed with drones that assault and surveil. He takes over from the 60-year-old Syrskyi, a mastermind of conventional warfare who got here underneath fireplace after clashing with the nation’s tech-savvy former protection minister.
Zelenskyy praised Syrskyi for “delivering outcomes for Ukraine,” defending Kyiv early within the Russian full-scale invasion, which started in February 2022, and liberating components of northeastern Ukraine later that 12 months.
“We’ve come a great distance,” Zelenskyy mentioned in a video handle. “Ukraine’s protection continues, and each warrior have to be handled with dignity.”
Syrsykyi’s dismissal comes after Zelenskyy’s newest authorities reshuffle, which sparked mass protests throughout the nation after he eliminated the favored, technology-focused protection minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, on July 15.
Oleksandr Syrsky, photographed in jap Ukraine in June 2022, earlier than he turned Ukraine’s army chief.
Anastasia Vlasova/For The Washington Submit through Getty Pictures
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Anastasia Vlasova/For The Washington Submit through Getty Pictures
One protester in Kyiv, 42-year-old Mila Timchenko, mentioned Syrskyi was skilled and integral to Ukraine’s protection early within the battle, “however instances have modified, the way in which wars are being fought has modified.”
Fedorov, 35, has been credited with pushing a drone-focused technique that has turned the tide towards a a lot bigger and better-resourced Russia in a full-scale battle that has lasted greater than 4 years.
Over the previous few months, Ukraine has used its personal long-range drones to repeatedly strike Russia’s oil and gasoline amenities, inflicting gas shortages. It has developed mid-range drones to assault provide routes for the Russian military in occupied components of Ukraine, in addition to vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet within the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian drones intercept the assault drones Russia launches at Ukrainian cities almost each night time. And land drones, or unmanned floor autos, are changing infantry on the frontline.
The worth of drones
Mykhailo Fedorov offers a briefing after his dismissal as protection minister by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 16.
Anadolu through Getty Pictures/Getty Pictures
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Anadolu through Getty Pictures/Getty Pictures
Chatting with reporters final week, Zelenskyy mentioned Fedorov and Syrskyi clashed continuously over protection priorities and reforms. The strain uncovered a generational divide between a tech-savvy drone evangelist and a Soviet-educated, battle-hardened traditionalist.
Rob Lee, a Kyiv-based army analyst and former U.S. Marine officer, says Syrskyi might have had old-school concepts however he additionally noticed the worth of drones in trendy warfare.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Drapatyi to switch army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he fired late Tuesday.
Alina Smutko/Reuters
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Alina Smutko/Reuters
“It is sort of develop into this narrative of pro-drone versus anti-drone, however I do not assume that is fully truthful right here,” Lee advised NPR. “I feel Fedorov needed to maneuver quicker with reforms, and clearly Syrskyi didn’t need to transfer as quick.”
Fedorov mentioned in a press convention final week that Syrskyi and the army institution that backs him have been sluggish to undertake tech-driven initiatives and blocked reforms on procuring arms.
“It is a tradition that has developed all through the system, and it should merely be eradicated,” Fedorov mentioned. “In any other case, we will be unable to defeat an enemy whose system is bothered with the identical issues.”
The brand new army chief succeeds a Soviet-trained normal
Syrskyi was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces in February 2024, after Zelenskyy fired Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the favored former army chief with whom the president had clashed on army technique and the mobilization of troopers.
Syrskyi, who was promoted from his place as the pinnacle of Ukraine’s floor forces, was admired for his dedication and laborious work, however like lots of Ukraine’s older generals, was educated within the Soviet system, which emphasizes a top-down, inflexible adherence to doctrine. Some troopers known as Syrskyi “The Butcher” due to a brutal battle of attrition that came about in 2023, when he led land forces and the Ukrainian military tried to defend — and finally misplaced — the jap Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut.
On Monday, Syrskyi defended himself in a put up on a army web site. He mentioned he had no beef with Fedorov and even supplied an apology for any private conflicts. He mentioned he was at battle with Russia, not the Protection Ministry.
On Wednesday, he wrote on social media that he was “relinquishing” his put up and itemizing the accomplishments underneath his command. “I’ve mentioned this earlier than, and I repeat it in the present day: my job is battle,” he wrote. “Positions change, however this precept stays the identical. It doesn’t matter what standing I maintain, I’ll serve Ukraine till victory.”
The brand new army chief, Drapatyi, praised Fedorov in a Fb put up after the previous protection minister’s dismissal. He mentioned Fedorov promoted initiatives that allowed for faster decision-making and strategizing.
“The army wants change however with out justice, no change will make sense to the individuals who carry this battle on their shoulders on daily basis,” Drapatyi wrote.
The Kremlin shrugs
Drapatyi turned a hero in 2014, when Russian-backed proxies tried to occupy the southeastern port metropolis of Mariupol. Then a soldier commanding a battalion within the 72nd brigade, he led an armored automobile via a Russian barricade.
He rose via the ranks to develop into, in 2024, the youngest commander of land forces. A champion of accountability for himself and the army general, he submitted his resignation the next 12 months, after a Russian assault on a military coaching heart. “A military through which nobody is held accountable is dying from inside,” he mentioned then.
That sense of accountability made him well-liked amongst troopers, says Lee, the army analyst, as did Drapatyi’s curiosity in listening — and studying from — youthful troopers.
“We’ll see this sort of generational shift occur,” he mentioned. “Although Drapatyi can have so much on his plate,” together with the fraught challenge of mobilization reform.
The Kremlin appeared to shrug off each Syrskyi’s firing and Drapatyi’s appointment, although Russian state media reported that authorities issued an arrest warrant for Drapatyi simply hours after his appointment.
“I do not assume it can result in any modifications,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned of Drapatyi’s appointment. “The dynamics on the fronts are well-known: our Armed Forces proceed their offensive operations throughout your entire width of the entrance.”
Russia is now hanging Ukrainian cities with extra ballistic missiles. Ukraine has developed drones and digital warfare to thwart almost all assault drones however not fast-moving missiles. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, greater than 16,000 civilians have been confirmed as killed by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Protests proceed
Ukrainians took to the streets to protest towards the dismissal of former Protection Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Paula Bronstein for NPR
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Paula Bronstein for NPR
In the meantime, protests are set to proceed exterior Zelenskyy’s workplace. Protest organizer Dmytro Koziatynskyi, who can be a veteran, wrote on social media that protesters will not cease until Zelenskyy reappoints Fedorov as protection minister.
For now, Zelenskyy has supplied Fedorov one other place within the authorities centered on strengthening the tech sector, however Fedorov says he’s solely prepared to work as protection minister.
Writing on social media, Fedorov mentioned he had known as Syrskyi to thank him for his service, and that he welcomed Drapatyi’s appointment.
Protesters sit in Kyiv on July 17, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine’s protection minister.
Paula Bronstein for NPR
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Paula Bronstein for NPR
“It is a new period and a brand new hope within the struggle of free individuals for freedom and justice,” Fedorov wrote. “It’s a voice of change that would not be ignored.”
NPR’s Charles Maynes contributed to this report from Moscow. Polina Lytvynova contributed from Kyiv.
