Oleksandr Syrskyi

Force in Play

Dismissed July 21, 2026

Ukraine changed the general running its war. On July 22, President Volodymyr Zelensky named Mykhailo Drapatyi, a 43-year-old combat commander, to replace 60-year-old Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Updated Jul 22

Force in Play

Directing the defense of the fortress belt

Russia says it holds Kostiantynivka. Ukraine says its troops are still fighting inside the city. On July 5, 2026, Russia's Defense Ministry offered a six-hour truce there for July 6 to hand back the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers. Kyiv rejected the offer.

Updated Jul 5

New Capabilities

Overseeing integration of interceptor drones into Ukraine's layered air defense

Russia began bombing Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones in October 2022. Over three and a half years later, Ukraine has transformed that threat into an exportable edge: low-cost interceptor drones, as cheap as $2,100 each, now handling over 70% of Shahed kills.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

Leading Ukrainian operations in Kupiansk direction

Russian forces have spent more than two years trying to recapture Kupiansk, a railway hub they lost in five days during Ukraine's 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. On February 9, 2026, they launched a mechanized assault east of the city, claiming to have captured Petropavlivka and Stepova Novoselivka, though Ukrainian forces said they repelled multiple attacks there.

Updated May 27