Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The warrant does not detail what the general is accused of.
Russian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi late Tuesday, placing Ukraine’s newly named military chief directly in their crosshairs.
The news broke just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handed him the top command post.
According to the state news agency RIA Novosti, Drapatyi appeared on the official wanted database of the Russian Interior Ministry. However, the online listing did not explicitly detail any new criminal charges against the incoming commander.
The legal move capped a whirlwind day in Kyiv. Zelensky had just dismissed General Oleksandr Syrskyi following nearly a week of public street protests over a dramatic leadership shake-up.
Those demonstrations erupted after the president removed popular reformist Mykhailo Fedorov from his position as defense minister. The decision sparked widespread anger among citizens and front-line soldiers alike.
Battle for the front
Drapatyi is hardly a stranger to Russian law enforcement or the battlefield. According to The Moscow Times, Russia’s Investigative Committee previously filed criminal charges against him in 2023, citing allegations involving 154 casualties in eastern Ukraine between 2017 and 2019.
By then, the 43-year-old officer was already a household name across Ukraine.
He first gained national fame during the fighting following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 when he ordered his armored vehicle to smash through a blockade in Mariupol to rescue trapped police officers.
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He reportedly managed to guide a unit to safety after it was encircled in enemy territory later the same year. His reputation as a daring field commander only grew after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
When Russian forces launched a major offensive near Kharkiv in mid-2024, Drapatyi stepped in to halt the advance and stabilize the frontline. That success made him the youngest commander of Ukraine’s land forces.
Now, he takes the top job.
