Drapaty is changing the style of management of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: how does his approach differ from Syrsky’s?
After Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there was no large-scale personnel “revolution” in the army. At the same time, he began to change his approach to appointments and interaction with commanders at the front.
RBC-Ukraine writes about this, citing sources in the Armed Forces.
According to the publication’s interlocutors, Drapatiy did not massively dismiss commanders and staff officers who worked under the previous commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky. Instead, personnel changes are taking place on a case-by-case basis.
One of the notable differences, the sources say, is a broader personnel “elevation.” According to them, Drapatiy is more active in promoting military personnel from lower levels of the hierarchy to high management positions.
Some interlocutors believe that this approach allows for faster promotion of strong specialists, without being rigidly tied to their age, rank, formal experience, or specialized military education. Others, however, see risks in this due to a possible lack of experience in managing large formations.
According to the publication, the style of working directly with the front also differs.
RBC sources describe Syrsky as a commander who focused a significant portion of his work on himself, was constantly on the front lines, and personally intervened in problematic situations even at lower levels of management.
“Syrsky himself practically lived at the front: he constantly traveled to different directions, visited units, personally got involved in problematic situations, and tried to keep a lot of things under control, right down to the lower levels,” one of the publication’s interlocutors said.
Drapatiy, he said, works differently now. He also visits the front, but gives more opportunities to commanders on the ground to demonstrate results on their own.
“Drapatiy is working differently for now. He also goes to the front, watches what is happening, but for now he is giving more opportunities to the commanders on the ground to show the results themselves – both to those who have already worked and to those whom he appoints,” the source noted.
The interlocutors suggest that such a format may leave Drapatom more time for systemic issues – restructuring management, personnel policy, and forming his own strategy for waging war. At the same time, they emphasize that it is too early to draw final conclusions about his style.
As a reminder, earlier “Pryamiy” wrote about Drapaty’s first month as commander-in-chief . Among the first changes were personnel decisions and the reorganization of the command of troops in certain areas.
Drapatiy also identified key problems of the sergeant corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and set tasks for its further reform.
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