Burç Eruygur
22 July 2026•Update: 22 July 2026
- Zelenskyy later signs decrees appointing new chief of staff, commander-in-chief
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said Ihor Skybiuk will become the country’s new chief of General Staff as part of a military reshuffle.
Zelenskyy said on the US social media company X that he, as well as Ukraine's new Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi and acting Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara, together chose Skybiuk as the country’s new chief of General Staff.
“He is a highly experienced officer who defended Ukraine shoulder to shoulder with the new Commander-in-Chief,” Zelenskyy said, noting that decisions on the changes in the country’s military leadership will be formalized later in the day, with the relevant decree now in preparation.
“It is important that all components of our Armed Forces continue to function in complete coordination. We also determined together how (former Commander-in-Chief) Oleksandr Syrskyi and (former Chief of General Staff) Andrii Hnatov will continue serving in the defense of our country,” he added.
The move comes amid a major wartime military and government reshuffle in Ukraine including the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a step which has led to widespread protests in the country.
While Khmara officially took the role of acting defense minister on Monday, Zelenskyy said Drapatyi would become Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief, replacing Syrskyi, who took the position in February 2024.
“It is a fact that Oleksandr Syrskyi delivered results for Ukraine in the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv offensive, and the Kursk operation. We have come a long way, Ukraine's defense continues, and every warrior must be treated with dignity,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address late Tuesday.
“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to every one of our warriors for Ukraine's strong positions on the front. I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for sharing this vision.”
In a statement on Telegram earlier Wednesday, Syrskyi confirmed leaving his post as commander-in-chief, noting that he took command at a "very difficult time," as well as listing numerous steps and reforms taken during this period.
"I am handing over to my successor an army that is not only holding the defense, but is also in a state of attack -- with initiative, with structure, with people who know how to beat the enemy. And I sincerely hope that this offensive will be continued," Syrsyki said.
He went on to claim that since the start of the year Ukrainian forces have retaken control of 743 square kilometers (286 square miles) of territory in Ukraine.
Decrees on Syrskyi and Hnatov's dismissal from their posts, as well as decrees on Skybiuk and Drapatyi's appointments, have later been posted on the website of Ukraine's Presidential Office.
