Overview
- President Volodymyr Selenskyj dismissed Commander‑in‑Chief Oleksandr Syrskyj and named Mykhailo Drapatyj as the new head of the armed forces after several days of mass protests.
- Jewhenij Chmara has been appointed acting defence minister and must still be formally nominated to the Verkhovna Rada for parliamentary confirmation.
- Selenskyj has tasked Drapatyj with strengthening offensive operations, expanding drone and other technological capabilities, and reducing tactics that expose soldiers to high casualties.
- Selenskyj offered popular former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorow a senior technology role, but Fedorow has not accepted and insists he would return only as defence minister.
- The reshuffle exposes a generational and strategic split in Ukraine's military leadership, creates institutional hurdles for rapid reform in the higher command, and leaves Selenskyj politically exposed to further street mobilization.