Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considering the possibility of removing General Oleksandr Syrskyi from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, commander of the Joint Forces group, is being considered as his successor.
Bloomberg reported this, citing its own sources.
Two unnamed sources told the agency that Zelenskyy is considering the commander-in-chief’s resignation amid mass protests that began in Ukraine on July 16 following the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
According to them, Zelenskyy has already begun searching for candidates to replace the commander-in-chief. One of them noted that the president is likely to choose Drapatyi as the successor to Syrskyi, who may be dismissed in the coming days.
A second Bloomberg source added that a final decision has not yet been made, although Zelenskyy’s team has already compiled a list of eleven candidates.
Syrskyi was appointed commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in early 2024, replacing General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. He earned high praise for his successful leadership of Kyiv’s defense in the first months following the start of the full-scale invasion, as well as for the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv Region in the fall of 2022.
Drapatyi was serving as Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for Troop Training when the full-scale invasion began. He is known as one of the commanders who led the liberation of Kherson. In November 2024, he was appointed commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Ground Forces, and in January 2025, he was sent to lead the “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group of forces. In June of that year, Drapatyi resigned following a missile strike on a training ground in the Sumy Region; he was relieved of his command and reassigned to lead the Joint Forces. In October 2025, he took command of the newly formed Joint Forces group.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, information had previously circulated in some media outlets and on Telegram channels that Syrskyi and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Andrii Hnatov, were allegedly to be dismissed. On July 20, the General Staff issued a statement declaring that this information is untrue.
As a reminder, also yesterday, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that the authorities have heeded the public’s position, and the situation is being resolved constructively and in the interests of the state.
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