Volodimir Zelenski. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Office / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
President Volodimir Zelenski on Thursday appointed Brigadier General Hennadi Șapovalov as the new commander of Ukraine's ground forces, following the resignation of Mihailopians earlier this month, reports Ukrainian Kyiv Independent.
The drapiers resigned on June 1, after a Russian missile attack killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers in a training polygon in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He described the victims as young recruits who “should have learned, live and fight – not die.”
Zelenski accepted the resignation of Drapatii and appointed on June 3 in the position of commander of the forces met. An investigation into the incident is in progress, and the ground forces have promised to be held accountable if deviations or negligence are confirmed.
Șapovalov, born in 1978 in the Kirovohrad region, is a career officer, a graduate of the Military Institute of Tank bands in Kharkov and later of the National University of Defense of Ukraine. He also attended courses at the US Army War College.
Previously, Şapovalov led the South Operational Command of Ukraine in 2024 and was appointed in February 2025 the representative of Ukraine in the NATO assistance and training mission for Ukraine (NSATU) in Germany.
The drapiers, in his final statements as the head of the Ground Forces on June 11, said he replaced more than half of the superior management of the command, initiated a reform of the recruitment centers and promoted reforms focused on decentralization, responsibility and modernization.
Zelenski said that the new role of Drapatii will allow him to focus “exclusively on fighting problems”, at a time when Ukraine is facing more and more intense attacks on several fronts.
