Ukraine's new Ground Forces commander introduced to personnel
Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi introduced Brigadier General Svyatoslav Zaits as the new Commander of the Ground Forces on September 5. Zaits was appointed by presidential decree on September 2, replacing Hennadii Shapovalov, who was dismissed in the same decree. Drapatyi set out five priorities for the new commander, centered on personnel protection, frontline-relevant training, merit-based promotion, and adoption of new technologies based on combat advantage rather than report metrics.
Key points
- Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi introduced Brigadier General Svyatoslav Zaits as the new Commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces on September 5.
- Zaits was appointed by presidential decree on September 2; President Volodymyr Zelensky also dismissed the previous commander, Hennadii Shapovalov.
- Before his appointment, Zaits commanded the 20th Army Corps, which defends Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
- Drapatyi cited three reasons for the choice: experience in troop command, the ability to carry decisions through to results, and willingness to implement new technologies that provide real combat advantage.
- The five priorities set for Zaits are: training, equipping, and protecting personnel from unjustified risk; relevant, high-quality training; promotion based on competence, results, and leadership; adoption of unmanned, digital and other new capabilities on the criterion of combat advantage and lives saved; and rapid dissemination of combat-experience lessons to trainers, planners, and decision-makers.
- Drapatyi said the new commander's task is to make the Ground Forces capable of performing combat missions and better for the people serving in them.
- Drapatyi announced the introduction via his Facebook page, with the text also republished on the Telegram channel of the General Staff.
Why it matters
The Ground Forces are the largest branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces and are responsible for major wartime functions including mobilization. A change of commander at this level, in the middle of a continuing full-scale war, signals a shift in how the army wants to organize personnel, training, promotion, and the adoption of new technologies. By publicly tying the choice to combat experience, follow-through on decisions, and battlefield-driven technology, Drapatyi is setting out the direction the Ground Forces are meant to take under Zaits.
What happened
On September 5, 2026, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi introduced Brigadier General Svyatoslav Zaits as the new Commander of the Ground Forces to the personnel. Zaits had been appointed to the post by a presidential decree on September 2, the same decree by which President Zelensky dismissed the previous commander, Hennadii Shapovalov. Drapatyi announced the introduction on his Facebook page, and the text was also republished on the General Staff's Telegram channel. Drapatyi named three reasons for selecting Zaits: experience in troop command, the ability to carry decisions through to results, and the willingness to implement new technologies that provide a real combat advantage. He thanked Shapovalov for his work as commander. Drapatyi set out five priority tasks for Zaits and the Ground Forces: proper training, equipping, and protection of personnel from unjustified risk; high-quality training that matches frontline realities; promotion based on competence, results, and leadership, forming a new generation of officers and sergeants; adoption of unmanned, digital, and other new capabilities measured by combat advantage and lives saved rather than report metrics; and rapid transmission of combat-experience lessons to those who train, plan, and make decisions. He framed the new commander's task as making the Ground Forces capable of performing combat missions and better for the people serving in them.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the precise date the appointment was announced. One set of articles places the introduction ceremony and Drapatyi's announcement on Saturday, September 5, while others place the presidential appointment itself on September 2. The two dates are not in conflict — the decree was issued on September 2 and the introduction to personnel followed on September 5 — but they emphasize different moments of the same event.
Background
Before his appointment, Svyatoslav Zaits commanded the 20th Army Corps, responsible for defending Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, having taken up that post in April 2025. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 8th Corps of the Air Assault Forces. In 2014, during Russia's occupation of Crimea, Zaits commanded a reconnaissance-assault company in the 25th Brigade of the 36th Coastal Defense Brigade and led his unit to the Ukrainian mainland. Ukraine's Ground Forces are responsible, among other things, for carrying out mobilization of the population under martial law. On September 2, the same day the appointment was made, Commander-in-Chief Drapatyi published the principles by which he plans to command the army, naming people as the most valuable asset for combat capability and identifying stabilization of the front as his primary duty. On August 30, Defense Minister Khmara spoke about the need for higher accountability of commanders at all levels for preserving the lives of military personnel.