Mykhailo Drapaty became the third commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion almost five years ago. After his first 100 days in the post, the German outlet tagesschau summed up the results: what has changed in the army under his leadership and how this has affected the situation at the front.
A young commander with frontline experience
The military welcomed Drapaty's appointment for two reasons at once. First, at 43 he is noticeably younger than his predecessors. Second, he has real combat experience: he fought on the front line as far back as 2014, when Russia was creating the so-called "people's republics" and their armed formations in eastern Ukraine. A former spokesman for the Ground Forces, which Drapaty previously commanded, emphasized that the new commander-in-chief acts in a structured and flexible way in difficult situations, and that he has not heard any negative feedback about him.
President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Drapaty after mass protests against his predecessor Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was criticized, in particular, for an overly authoritarian style of commanding the army.
Less micromanagement — more responsibility on the ground
According to observers, the main trend of the new course is a rejection of petty control and the transfer of more responsibility to lower levels of command. Former war correspondent and now serviceman Yurii Butusov points to a specific change: commanders of army corps no longer need to report to the commander-in-chief twice a day. This, he says, saves precious time.
In addition, Drapaty thinks in broader structures. For the Donbas, where the fiercest fighting is taking place, he created two so-called army groups, each of which unites several corps. The goal is better coordination of actions in the key direction.
The Russian offensive in the Donbas has almost stopped
The changes are noticed even by Russian analysts who are critical of the Kremlin. Ruslan Leviev of the Conflict Intelligence Team research platform notes that for about a month and a half now the Russian army in the Donbas has made almost no progress. He links this to the new corps commander responsible for the defense of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Ukrainian forces even managed to conduct a local offensive in northern Donetsk region — the so-called "Operation Vivaldi." It thwarted Russian plans to encircle Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north. According to Leviev, after the change in the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military is making better use of the enemy's weak points for successful offensive actions.
Containment, but not a turning point
Assessments vary, but since Drapaty took charge of the army, Russia has on the whole captured no more territory than Ukraine has liberated over the same period. This is acknowledged even by pro-Russian Telegram channels that monitor the course of the war. At the same time, experts emphasize that so far this is only a significant slowdown of the Russian offensive. Most analysts currently consider large-scale counteroffensive operations to retake large territories impossible.
Source: tagesschau.de, November 2, 2026.