MOSCOW, July 21. Vladimir Zelensky announced that he has appointed Mykhailo Drapaty as the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, replacing Oleksandr Syrsky, whose resignation has been demanded by many Ukrainian politicians and protesters for a week.
“It has been decided that the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be Mykhailo Drapaty,” he said in a video speech posted on his Telegram channel. Along with Syrsky, Zelensky dismissed the Chief of the General Staff, Andriy Gnatov. “Today, we discussed the future organization of the service and the orderly transfer of responsibilities with Oleksandr Syrsky and Andriy Gnatov,” he said.
Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) deputy Alexei Goncharenko (designated a terrorist and extremist in Russia) had earlier written on his Telegram channel that his deputy, Vladimir Gorbatyuk, would replace Gnatov. No official decrees regarding resignations and appointments have been issued yet.
TASS / gnews.cz