Ukraine will step up counteroffensive actions, new top commander says

KYIV, July 22 - The new commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Mykhailo Drapatyi, said on Wednesday he had been tasked with stepping up counteroffensive actions and launching new operations inside Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday tapped Drapatyi, 43, for the top military job, replacing Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, in the biggest shake-up of Ukraine's military leadership since Russia's invasion in 2022.

The move followed the ousting in a wider government reshuffle last week of tech-savvy reformist Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, which brought out into the open the deep divisions in Ukraine's defence leadership.

"The President of Ukraine has set clear objectives for us: to continue and intensify offensive operations in all domains, to plan new operations behind enemy lines, to develop our military and its technologies, and to build up the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Drapatyi said on Facebook.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and logistics this year in a bid to undermine Moscow's war effort.

Major General Ihor Skybiuk, a former commander of the air assault forces, will become the new head of the General Staff, Drapatyi said.

Drapatyi, a respected and experienced commander, is described by many as a general from a new generation. Syrskyi has faced harsh criticism for a rigid command style that some service members have said resulted in unjustifiably high troop losses.

'ZELENSKIY HEARD THE PROTESTERS'

On the streets of Kyiv and other cities, rare wartime protests had called for Syrskyi's dismissal and for Fedorov to be reinstated.

"Zelenskiy heard the protesters," said Ilona Ivchenko, 40, a human resources manager who lives in Kyiv. "I support Syrskyi's dismissal, and Drapatyi's appointment was the right choice."

In a post on X on Wednesday confirming his departure, Syrskyi highlighted his battlefield track record and reforms, including retaking more than 700 sq km (270 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory this year.

"I am handing over to my successor an army that is not only holding the defence but is also on the offensive — with initiative, with structure, with people who know how to beat the enemy," he said.

Despite Russian advances slowing this year, its troops are still pressing on in strategic areas of eastern Ukraine.

Zelenskiy said he and Drapatyi had decided how Syrskyi and outgoing General Staff chief Andrii Hnatov would continue to serve Ukraine's military efforts, without giving further detail.

Fedorov welcomed Drapatyi's appointment, though his own fate remains unclear. Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he offered him a "decent post" in the state apparatus, but Fedorov has previously said he only wants his old job back. A source told Reuters it was not likely that Fedorov would be reappointed.

Zelenskiy has appointed Yevhenii Khmara as acting defence minister.

Drapatyi takes charge at a time of growing social and political tensions over Ukraine's wartime leadership and he will face a raft of challenges, including the sensitive issue of recruitment.

"A practical, effective mobilization process was identified as a priority," Zelenskiy said on X.

Asked about the reshuffle, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not think it would lead to changes on the battlefield. REUTERS