Zelensky names new ground forces commander
Ukrainian Major General Mikhail Drapaty, who is on Russia’s wanted list, has been named as Kiev’s new ground forces commander, Vladimir Zelensky announced in a Telegram post on Friday.
Zelensky said the appointment was decided jointly by him and Ukraine’s top military commander, General Aleksandr Syrsky and praised Drapaty for what he called a “successful defense” of Kharkov Region.
Drapaty took over command of the Kharkov group of forces during a Russian offensive in in May, in which Russian troops seized more than a dozen settlements in less than a week. The development prompted Zelensky to cancel all his foreign trips at that time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said before the operation that the goal was to create a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border, to prevent Kiev’s forces from shelling Russian villages and towns and protect civilians.
In September 2023, the Russian Investigative Committee said that then Lieutenant General Drapaty had been put on the wanted list, and would face charges in Russia.
Between 2017 and 2019, Drapaty was one of the Ukrainian commanders leading Kiev’s military crackdown in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, according to Russian officials. Ukrainian troops under his command shelled multiple Donbass settlements on more than 70 occasions, killing and injuring more than 150 people.
In May 2024, the Russian Interior Ministry told TASS news agency that a second criminal case had been opened against Drapaty in Russia. The general was put on the wanted list for the second time. Details of the new probe have not been made public.
Drapaty is replacing General Aleksandr Pavlyuk as commander of the ground forces. Pavlyuk was previously known for slamming those who show sympathy for draft dodgers killed while attempting to avoid mobilization in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s conscription campaign has been plagued by draft dodging. Men seeking to avoid being sent to the front line have often attempted to flee abroad, embarking on increasingly perilous journeys.
In March, the Ukrainian border guard service reported that more than two dozen men had drowned while swimming across the Tisza River on the country's border with Romania, in an effort to flee the country. Separately, the service also released images of officers beating and humiliating dozens of men after they were caught while attempting to cross the border.
Pavlyuk then lashed out at those who criticized the enforcement of the draft in the country. Such dissent amounts to collusion with Russia, he claimed at that time. He also argued that any sympathy for dead draft dodgers undermines mobilization efforts.
