The general who halted the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region has been appointed commander of the Ground Forces.

Today, November 29, the President of Ukraine appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapaty as the Commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine.

This information was revealed in a message on the official Telegram channel of President Volodymyr Zelensky, as reported by "Dumka".

According to him, several personnel decisions for our army were made today at the headquarters along with the Commander-in-Chief.

"The new Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is Mykhailo Drapaty. Oleg Apostol has been appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces," the President wrote.

Major General Mykhailo Drapaty successfully organized the defense in the Kharkiv direction and thwarted the offensive operation of Russian forces.

It is worth recalling that on May 10, 2024, the Russians launched a second offensive into the Kharkiv region, breaking through defenses in the northern part of the area. At that time, the Operational-Tactical Group "Kharkiv" was led by Yuriy Halushkin.

On May 11, the Chief of the General Staff appointed Brigadier General Mykhailo Drapaty as the head of the Operational-Tactical Group "Kharkiv", who in 2022 led the liberation of the right bank of the Kherson region from the occupiers.

During his time at the head of the Operational-Tactical Group "Kharkiv", Drapaty managed to stabilize the front line in the northern part of the Kharkiv region and halt the advance of the Russians deeper into the area.

In early September 2024, it became known that Colonel Viktor Solymchuk was appointed as the commander of the Operational-Tactical Group "Kharkiv".

Reference: Mykhailo Drapaty is a senior officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a knight of the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and "People's Hero of Ukraine". Since 2014, he has fought in the east of the country as the commander of the 2nd mechanized battalion of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade. Under his command, Ukrainian troops emerged from the so-called "Izvarine Cauldron".

In 2014, he began training at the National Defense University of Ukraine named after Ivan Cherniakhovskyi, where he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel. Soon, he transferred to part-time studies and returned to the ATO zone – as part of the 30th separate mechanized brigade (Novograd-Volynskyi), where he served as the chief of staff – first deputy commander of the brigade until the end of summer 2016.

In August 2016, he was appointed commander of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade (Konotop), which carried out tasks in Avdiivka and the Yasynuvata district of Donetsk region.

In April 2019, Drapaty was prematurely awarded the rank of colonel.

During the full-scale invasion, he led the operational grouping "Kherson" until January 2024.

In February 2024, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for military training.

In October 2024, Zelensky awarded Drapaty the rank of major general.