Drapaty Made A Statement Regarding The New Chief Of The General Staff Of The Armed Forces Of Ukraine

• 22.07.2026, 14:47

The new commander-in-chief has responded to Zelenskyy's decision for the first time.

The new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ihor Skibyuk is a man who can be relied upon in the most difficult circumstances and whose decisions deserve trust.

This was stated by the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty, according to Charter97.org, citing his post on Facebook.

On July 22, Drapaty announced that he was assuming the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Major General Ihor Skibuk, former commander of the Airborne Forces, will serve as Chief of the General Staff on my team. I thank the President of Ukraine for supporting this decision,” stated the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to Drapaty, he and Skibuk first met back in 2022. This took place in southern Ukraine. It was then that they jointly led the operation to liberate the Kherson region from a single command post.

“Since that time, I have known him as a commander who can be trusted in difficult circumstances and whose decisions, experience, and personal principles can be relied upon,” Drapaty emphasized.

The Commander-in-Chief also noted that it was during Skibuk’s command of the Airborne Assault Forces that strong commanders emerged, in particular Oleg Apostol, Dmytro Voloshin, Yevhen Lasiychuk, Sviatoslav Zayets, Emil Ishkulov, Andriy Tkachuk, and many others.