Ukraine's commander-in-chief orders review of General Staff officers, prioritising combat experience
Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi has launched a personnel review of officers serving in Ukraine's General Staff, with the stated goal of retaining those who have combat experience and are capable of commanding troops. On 28 September he personally met heads of the General Staff's structural subdivisions to set out his expectations, with a 2 October deadline for reports on officers lacking frontline experience since 2022 and for eligible officers to decide on discharge.
Key points
- Drapatyi initiated a review of General Staff officers aimed at keeping those with combat experience since 2022.
- On 28 September he met heads of all General Staff subdivisions and told them: if change is demanded of the troops, it must begin with the headquarters itself.
- By 2 October, subdivision heads must submit data on officers and generals who since 2022 have not had practical combat experience at the battalion–brigade–corps–grouping level.
- Officers without recent combat experience will not be automatically dismissed; some will be sent to the troops, while their General Staff posts go to officers with current frontline experience.
- By 2 October, officers eligible for discharge and pension must decide on their future.
- The decision has reportedly provoked resistance, with some officers trying through various channels to avoid reassignment or to resolve the issue via the Chief of the General Staff.
Why it matters
The review is the most concrete step yet in Drapatyi's attempt to reshape Ukraine's senior military leadership around frontline realities rather than headquarters tenure. The 2 October deadline turns what could have been a slow personnel review into a near-term administrative action with identifiable outcomes, and the reported pushback indicates that the changes are meeting resistance inside the General Staff.
What happened
Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi launched a personnel review of officers serving in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 28 September he personally gathered the heads of all structural subdivisions of the General Staff and explained his expectations, delivering the message that if the military demands change of the troops, it must begin with itself.
By 2 October, subdivision heads must submit information about officers and generals of the General Staff who since 2022 have had no practical experience carrying out combat missions as part of groupings at the battalion–brigade–corps–force-grouping level. The review does not amount to automatic dismissal: some officers without combat experience are to be sent to the troops to gain it, and their General Staff positions are to be filled by officers with current combat experience. Also by 2 October, officers who have the right to discharge and pension must decide on their future.
The information was reported by Ukrainska Pravda on 29 September, citing a source described as one of the General Staff's officers. The same source said Drapatyi's decision has already provoked resistance, with some officers trying through various channels to avoid reassignment or to resolve their situation through the Chief of the General Staff.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets have framed the review as a deliberate, principle-driven reset of the General Staff, foregrounding Drapatyi's 'begin with oneself' message. Coverage has paired the administrative mechanics — subdivision reports and officer decisions due by 2 October — with reporting on pushback from officers seeking to avoid reassignment, and has situated the move within Drapatyi's earlier reform steps: the leadership principles he published on 2 September, and the cancellation of more than 30 outdated General Staff orders reported on 9 September.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on how strictly to read Drapatyi's combat-experience criterion. Some accounts frame recent frontline experience as effectively the standard for keeping senior officers in post, while a General Staff officer cited in the reporting explicitly says combat experience is not the sole criterion of professionalism — arguing instead that a wartime strategic headquarters must stay connected to what is actually happening in the troops and must produce decisions that help them fight more effectively.
Background
On 2 September, Drapatyi published the Principles by which he said he would lead the Armed Forces, identifying servicemembers as the main value. On 9 September, Vitalii Sarantsev, head of the communications department of the 14th Army Corps, reported that Drapatyi had recently cancelled more than 30 outdated orders of the General Staff. Presidential advisor on technological defence directions Serhiy Beskrestnov has said the Commander-in-Chief is appointing the most competent leaders to technical directions in the army. The personnel review is presented as the next step in that same agenda.