Failure in the Kursk region: Drapatyi and Moysiuk are being considered instead of Syrskyi
18 March 12:58
Recently, Ukraine has been actively discussing the possible replacement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, after the failure in the Kursk sector. According to Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of the European Solidarity party, one of the main candidates for this position is Lieutenant General Yevhen Moysiuk, who currently serves as Deputy Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Sources
“Lieutenant General Yevhen Moysiuk is being considered as a replacement for Syrsky after the failure on the Kursk direction. Currently, Moysiuk is the Deputy Minister of Defense. During the large-scale invasion, he was Valeriy Zaluzhny’s representative,” Goncharenko wrote.
At the same time, according to sources
According to sources
According to sources, this topic has been discussed on Bankova Street for months. The setbacks at the front, particularly in the Kursk sector, have only intensified these discussions. Syrskyi, who took over the Armed Forces after Zaluzhnyi’s resignation in February 2024, has faced criticism over strategic decisions and the difficult situation in eastern Ukraine. This suggests that the process is not spontaneous and could have been planned in advance.
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Yevhen Moysiuk: from Zaluzhnyi’s representative to a candidate for the Commander-in-Chief
Mr. Moysiuk is currently the Deputy Minister of Defense.
From 2000 to 2002, Moysiuk served in the 25th separate airborne brigade in Bolhrad as a commander of a parachute and reconnaissance platoon.
In 2004-2005, he served in Iraq as part of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent, and from 2008 to 2009 he was part of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
in 2012, Moysiuk became the commander of the first parachute battalion.
He has participated in the war against the Russian occupiers since 2014. In particular, in December 2014, he led the defense of the Donetsk airport and the withdrawal of personnel. on December 5, 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Major General.
Since July 21, 2019, Moisiuk has been the commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On December 5, 2019, he was promoted to lieutenant general.
In 2021, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Moisiuk from the post of commander of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and appointed Valeriy Zaluzhnyi as deputy commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Currently, as Rustem Umerov’s deputy, Moysiuk is responsible for key areas of defense policy. His possible appointment to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is associated with the failures in the Kursk sector, where Ukrainian forces have experienced significant difficulties.
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Mykhailo Drapaty: a competitor with combat experience
Drapaty, who currently serves as the commander of the Ukrainian Army, became famous for his successful defense of the Kharkiv sector and operations in Mariupol in 2014.
Mykhailo Drapatyi is a Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, former commander of the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade (2016-2019). He was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the Cross of Military Merit.
In 2014, when the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine began, Major Drapaty was the commander of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. In particular, in the spring of 2014, he commanded an operation during which he and his battalion were to enter Mariupol to reinforce local units already fighting against the militants. Local pro-Russian activists built barricades in the city. A video of a Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle driving through such a barricade became world famous. Mykhailo Drapaty was in the first vehicle.
During the full-scale war, until January 2024, he headed the Kherson operational group. He was one of the leaders of the liberation of the right bank of the Kherson region in 2022. In February 2024, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Military Training.
At the moment, there is no official confirmation of personnel changes in the military command, but the active discussion of the candidacies of Yevhen Moysiuk and Mykhailo Drapaty indicates serious political and military processes that could significantly affect the further course of the war. Only time will tell whether the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces will be replaced in the near future.
