Ukraine's new commander-in-chief launches personnel review of General Staff officers
Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi has launched a personnel review of officers serving in Ukraine's General Staff, aiming to retain those with combat experience since 2022. On 28 September he personally met the heads of all General Staff divisions and set a 2 October deadline for subdivision heads to report on officers lacking recent combat experience and for eligible officers to decide on discharge.
Key points
- Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi launched a personnel review of General Staff officers.
- On 28 September, Drapatyi personally gathered the heads of all General Staff structural divisions and outlined his expectations.
- The goal is to retain officers with combat experience since 2022 at the battalion–brigade–corps–force grouping level.
- By 2 October, division heads must report on officers and generals of the General Staff who have had no practical combat experience at that level since 2022.
- Officers without combat experience will not be automatically dismissed; some will be reassigned to the troops while their posts are filled by officers with current combat experience.
- By 2 October, officers eligible for discharge and pension must decide on their future.
- The decision has already provoked resistance, with some officers reportedly trying to avoid reassignment through various channels or via the Chief of the General Staff.
Why it matters
The initiative is one of the first personnel moves by Ukraine's new Commander-in-Chief and signals a reshaping of General Staff leadership around frontline combat experience. It formalises a wartime standard for senior headquarters posts and has already generated internal pushback, making it an early test of how quickly Drapatyi can reshape the military's top command.
What happened
Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi launched a personnel review of officers serving in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, aimed at keeping in place primarily those officers and generals who have combat experience and are capable of commanding troops. On 28 September he personally met the heads of all structural subdivisions of the General Staff and explained his expectations, telling them that if the military demands change, it must begin with itself.
By 2 October, division heads are to submit details of those officers and generals who since 2022 have not had practical experience executing combat missions within groupings at the battalion–brigade–corps–force grouping level. Officers without such experience will not be automatically dismissed: some will be sent to the troops to gain it, while their General Staff posts are to be filled by officers with current combat experience. By the same date, officers who are eligible for discharge and pension must decide on their future.
According to a General Staff officer cited by Ukrainska Pravda, combat experience is not the only measure of professionalism, but a wartime strategic headquarters cannot lose connection with what is actually happening in the troops, and the General Staff must serve the troops and deliver decisions that help them fight more effectively. The decision has already provoked resistance, with some officers reportedly seeking to avoid reassignment through various channels or through the Chief of the General Staff.
Background
On 2 September, Drapatyi published the Principles by which he intends to lead the Armed Forces, naming 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 General Staff orders. 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.