Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi will work in tandem with Minister of Defence Yevhenii Khmara.

This emerges from an article published by the American outlet The National Interest.

Their shared vision may define the next phase of the war.

Mykhailo Drapatyi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the same time as Yevhenii Khmara took over the Ministry of Defence during the summer reshuffle.

Within the military, Drapatyi is described as an energetic, demanding and professional commander who is nonetheless able to respond flexibly to a changing situation.

He is seen as representing a new generation of military leadership, with an emphasis on delegating authority to lower levels, encouraging initiative from below and preserving the lives of service members.

This approach differs from the Soviet command model, which involved excessive centralisation of decision-making. For Drapatyi, the effectiveness of command is measured not only by territorial gains but by the price at which they are achieved.

Khmara and Drapatyi, according to the assessments cited, come from a similar operational culture — one oriented towards offensive action and less centralised decision-making.

Their work together also begins without the mutual grievances said to have divided their predecessors in these posts.

The two are already working jointly on the next phase of strategy, which involves carrying the fighting onto Russian territory.

Khmara himself stresses that he does not view the relationship between the minister of defence and the commander-in-chief as a matter of personal rapport.

What matters, in his view, is a shared vision of how the war and military command should develop, since the absence of such a vision ultimately has a price at the front — paid in the lives of Ukrainian service members.

As ArmyInform reported earlier, Yevhenii Khmara is bringing to the Ministry of Defence his experience of special operations, strikes on Russia’s oil industry and the principle of “ruthless cost asymmetry”.