Major General Mykhailo Drapaty has been appointed as the new Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, while Oleh Apostol has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff Headquarters on Friday.

"Today, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky separately reported on the situation at the front and in the areas of the Kursk operation. Also, together with the Commander-in-Chief, we made several personnel decisions for our army. Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed as the new Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleh Apostol has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces," the head of state said on the Telegram channel.

He also noted that Drapaty successfully organized the defense on the Kharkiv axis and disrupted the offensive operation of the Russian forces. At the same time, Colonel Oleh Apostol is an experienced Commander of the 95th Independent Airborne Assault Brigade.

"Both have proven their effectiveness in battles. The main task is to significantly increase the combat capability of our army, to ensure the quality of training of servicemen and to introduce innovative approaches to the management of people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Army needs internal changes to fully achieve the goals of our state," Zelenskyy said.