Drapatiy must rebuild the army from scratch: Oleg Zhdanov explained why the change of commander-in-chief was necessary

The dismissal of Oleksandr Syrsky was fully justified from a military point of view, but the new commander-in-chief, Mykhailo Drapatom, will have to actually rebuild the command system of the Armed Forces. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment for Femida.ua by military expert Oleg Zhdanov.

According to Zhdanov, the personnel changes are long overdue, since two different command systems actually coexisted in the Ukrainian army.

“One hundred percent justified. We got to the point where some military people said that there were two armies: the old Soviet and the modern army by the standards of developed countries. This was a necessity that was long overdue,” he noted.

The expert believes that the arrival of Mykhailo Drapatom opens up the opportunity to introduce modern command principles, but quick results should not be expected.

“You should not think that everything will be fine tomorrow. Drapatom will have to actually start from scratch. Today, the Armed Forces management system is built on the Soviet authoritarian model with a rigid vertical of control without horizontal connections. It needs to be completely rebuilt,” Zhdanov explained.

In his opinion, the new commander-in-chief has already proven his effectiveness in commanding troops and applying modern approaches to conducting combat operations.

“Mykhailo Drapaty has shown that he is a progressive person, a person who uses modern methods of warfare and management. I think that the introduction of the latest technologies and modern weapons will continue,” the expert said.

Zhdanov also highly praised Drapaty’s professional path, calling him one of the most talented Ukrainian military leaders.

“When you read his combat biography, you get the impression that he was born to be a commander. Since the beginning of the war in 2014, he has withdrawn troops from the Izvarynsk Cauldron, broken through to Mariupol, and other successful operations. I have not seen another general like him yet. It is no coincidence that he became a general at the age of 43,” Zhdanov emphasized.

Among the top priorities of the new commander-in-chief, the expert named the completion of the reform of the corps system.

According to him, currently most army corps exist only formally, without a full set of combat, logistics and support units.

“We need to complete the formation of corps. This will finally allow us to organize a full-fledged rotation of military personnel on the front line. There are still units where servicemen are on the front line for more than six months without rotation. This is one of the most pressing problems that needs to be solved,” Oleg Zhdanov concluded.