Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi and appointed Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, who previously led military operations, as the new head of Ukraine’s armed forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the decision on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
The Ukrainian president said he had appointed Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, while thanking Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi for his service and expressing gratitude to Ukrainian soldiers for their continued defense of the country.
“I have decided that the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be Mykhailo Drapatyi,” Zelensky said.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, had served as Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief for two years after being appointed to the position in 2024. He is regarded as one of the country’s most senior military officers and became widely known for leading the defense of the capital, Kyiv, during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The decision to remove him came after former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was dismissed on July 14, prompting protests by people who demanded that Syrskyi also step down as head of the armed forces. Fedorov had accused him of obstructing military reforms.
Syrskyi had faced criticism from his opponents, who accused him of failing to protect the lives of soldiers and accepting battlefield defeats, leading some critics to label him “the butcher.”
