The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, replaced the commander of the country’s military land forces this Friday (29), placing Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi in command.
This comes as Russia makes gains in the east and Kiev faces a shortage of soldiers.
Zelensky said “internal changes” were necessary — he had announced Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, Drapatyi’s predecessor, in command of ground forces in a major shake-up in February 2024.
“The main task is to significantly increase the combat efficiency of our Army, ensure the quality of military training and introduce innovative approaches to personnel management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the president said.
“The Ukrainian Army needs internal changes to fully achieve our state goals,” he said on Telegram after meeting with his top military and government officials.
Drapatyi is highly respected in the Army, and military analysts praised his appointment. He took command of the Kharkiv front — the country’s second largest city — in May and managed to stop the Russian offensive in the northeast, stabilizing the front.
Zelensky also said he appointed Colonel Oleh Apostol, commander of the 95th separate air assault brigade, as deputy to Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
He praised Drapatyi and Apostol, highlighting that “they have proven their efficiency on the battlefield.”
Difficult situation for Ukraine in the war
Ukraine is at a disadvantage on the battlefield as it fights an enemy with more troops and better equipped. Russian forces are advancing steadily in the eastern Donetsk region.
Syrskyi, the army chief, stressed on Friday that he would strengthen troops deployed on the eastern front with reserves, ammunition and equipment while visiting two key Ukrainian-controlled sites in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine also lost about 40% of the territory it captured in Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise incursion in August, as Russian forces mounted waves of counterattacks.
The chief of ground forces oversees wartime mobilization efforts.
Military analysts say Ukraine’s army is facing a shortage of agents, making it more difficult to rotate troops away from the more than 1,000 kilometers of front line or form reserve forces.
Understand the War between Russia and Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and entered the territory from three fronts: through the Russian border, through Crimea and through Belarus, a country that is a strong ally of the Kremlin.
Forces loyal to President Vladimir Putin made significant advances in the first few days, but the Ukrainians managed to maintain control of Kiev, even though the city was also attacked. The invasion was criticized internationally and the Kremlin was the target of Western economic sanctions.
In October 2024, after thousands of deaths, the war in Ukraine entered what analysts describe as its most dangerous moment yet.
Tensions rose when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the use of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile during an attack on Ukrainian soil.
The projectile carried conventional warheads, but is capable of carrying nuclear material.
The launch took place after Ukraine launched an offensive inside Russian territory using weapons manufactured by Western powers, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
Western intelligence reports that Russia is using North Korean troops in the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang neither deny nor confirm the report.
President Vladimir Putin, who replaced his defense minister in May, has said that Russian forces are advancing much more effectively — and that Russia will achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine, although he did not elaborate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes Putin’s main goals are to occupy the entire Donbass region, encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and to expel Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region, which they have controlled parts of since August. .
This content was originally published in Zelensky appoints new head of Ukraine’s land forces and calls for changes on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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