Andriy Hnatov became Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces in March 2025. By July 2026 the president had removed him, along with the commander-in-chief he served under.
The mechanics of his rise matter. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Hnatov as Commander of Joint Forces on February 26, 2025. The next day, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced he had become Deputy Chief of the General Staff, in charge of generating forces and international partnerships. On March 16, Zelensky promoted him again, this time to chief, making Hnatov the second-ranking figure in the military after Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, according to 112 Ukraine. The General Staff said the appointment was meant to speed up decisions and make troop management more efficient.
A marine, not a staff officer
Umerov described his pick as a man with “over 27 years of experience in the army,” from marine brigade commander to Commander of Joint Forces. Hnatov graduated from the Kharkiv Tank School in 2001 but spent most of his career in the marine infantry. He ran the 36th Separate Marine Brigade from 2018 until 2021.
The invasion moved him into operational planning. He helped defend Mykolaiv, served as chief of staff of Operational Command ‘South’ during the autumn 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, and later led Operational Command ‘Primorye’ for Odesa Oblast. In spring 2023 he managed the defense of Bakhmut. Zelensky named him Commander of the Joint Forces in June 2024.
July 2026: the top of the chain changes
The catch is that the staff chief serves at the president’s pleasure, and the president moved quickly in July 2026. A week after dismissing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Zelensky replaced Syrskyi with Mykhailo Drapatyi. The Kyiv Independent reported that the moves set off protests in Kyiv and other cities, with some demonstrators backing Fedorov and others applauding Syrskyi’s exit. Fedorov had accused Syrskyi of outdated views on drones and the General Staff of blocking defensive initiatives.
Hnatov was among the dismissed. On July 23, 2026, Zelensky said he and Syrskyi would stay on as advisers. “General Syrskyi has tremendous experience,” he told reporters at a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. “Different things happened in the past. What matters is that they are listening to each other now.”
What Drapatyi changed
Ukrainska Pravda reported in October 2026 that officers describe the new style with one word: “freedom.” Syrskyi, they say, specified tactical details such as exact coordinates for defensive positions. Drapatyi left that to intermediate commanders. He dissolved the Skhid (East) Grouping, merged the Kursk Grouping into Pivnich (North), and now six operational groupings cover the front, including the new Centre, led by Andrii Biletskyi, and Azov, led by Denys Prokopenko. An officer said Drapatyi wants statistics and solutions, not a daily report on “what happened.”
Sources
- Zelensky says dismissed generals Syrskyi, Hnatov will remain to advise new army command
- New Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Andriy Hnatov (112 Ukraine)
- Commander-in-Chief Drapatyi moves away from predecessor Syrskyi's micromanagement (Ukrainska Pravda)
