The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapati as the new commander of the country's ground forces. After a meeting of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU), Zelensky announced on the "Telegram" platform that Drapati will take over the position of the previous commander, Colonel Oleg Apostol, who will be appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the VSU, Ukrinform reported, quoted from BTA.
"Together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (General Oleksandr Sirski), we made several personnel decisions for our army. Mihailo Drapati was appointed as the new commander of the ground forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Oleg Apostol was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”, Zelensky wrote.
The president added that Major General Drapati successfully organized the defense along the Kharkiv direction and interrupted the advance of the Russian forces. Colonel Apostol is an experienced commander of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade. Both have proven their effectiveness in combat.
"The main task is to significantly increase the combat capacity of our army, ensure the quality of training and introduce innovative approaches to human resource management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian army needs internal changes in order to fully achieve the goals of our country", noted the Ukrainian president.
In February 2024 Major General Mihailo Drapati was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Military Training. In May 2024 he was appointed commander of the Kharkiv operational-tactical group of troops, and later headed the Luhansk operational-tactical group of troops. Drapati participated in the Donbas war in eastern Ukraine. He began his combat career as the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ground Forces.
Since 2014 Colonel Oleg Apostol participated in combat operations in Eastern Ukraine. After the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he participated in the liberation of settlements in the Nikolaev region, during which a lot of enemy equipment was destroyed and captured. From the end of 2022 the units under the leadership of Apostol carried out successful defensive and assault operations in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. From February 2024 he is the commander of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade. From August 2024 participated in the operation of the Ukrainian defense forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, notes Ukrinform.