Drapaty and Khmara Are Changing the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Tactics, Says Expert
17 August 16:14
YOUTUBE
The appointment of the new leadership of the Army has already set in motion important reforms within the Ukrainian military, particularly regarding the streamlining of the use of mobilization resources. Gennadiy Druzenko, head of the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (FVMH) and a member of the military, stated this in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to the military medic, Mykhailo Drapaty’s initial decisions clearly demonstrated a departure from “Soviet” approaches to warfare. The new command began to crack down hard on practices where conscripts without proper training were sent on “unnecessary” assaults.
“Drapaty has already dismissed General Gruzevich and cut off access to mobilization resources for that very ‘Rock’ unit—or the 225th Battalion. Well, obviously, to all assault units. In other words, reforms are underway,” Druzenko emphasized.
He stressed that combat commanders like Drapatiy and Sukharevsky rose through the ranks directly on the front lines, not in offices, which is why they enjoy unquestioned authority among the troops.
“These are people shaped by war, who grew up exactly as the military elite should—not in the boardroom, not through political intrigue, but on the front lines. They are all combat officers, and human life matters to them,” noted Druzenko, head of the PDMSH.
At the same time, commenting on the likely appointment of General Yevhen Khmara as head of the Ministry of Defense, Druzenko noted that the transition from leading an elite special forces unit to a civilian-bureaucratic system will require the new leader to demonstrate the utmost resolve and the support of the state’s top leadership.
“I am absolutely certain that Khmara and Drapaty will find common ground. But the question is what kind of mandate you have from the President: if they give you a scalpel and tell you to ‘cut as you see fit’—the system will work,” concluded Hennadiy Druzenko.
Thus, the combination of General Drapaty’s combat experience on the front lines and Khmara’s resolve within the bureaucratic apparatus could be the key to preserving Ukraine’s most valuable resource—the lives of its defenders. However, the real success of these reforms will depend on whether the new leaders have full freedom of action and a political mandate to finally eradicate outdated Soviet practices.
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