Drapaty: I receive assignment from president; I remain in ranks, on frontline
Major General Mykhailo Drapaty, who submitted a report for dismissal from the post of Commander of the Ground Forces, reported on a long conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I reported everything that is currently known about the tragedy at the training ground. About each step – who was on site, who was responsible for the people, who should have acted. I explained to the Head of State the reasons for my decision. The President heard, supported and suggested focusing on the main thing – the war, the front, victory. I am grateful to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the trust, for a common understanding of responsibility and vision of the changes that our army needs," Drapaty said on Facebook.
He emphasized the need to change the culture within the army, the culture of the attitude of commanders towards their fighters, towards the performance of duties, towards the value of every life of a Ukrainian soldier.
"I received an assignment from the president. I remain in the ranks. On the frontline. Where I have to be. Where I can do the most," Drapaty said.
Earlier, commander of the Land Forces Drapaty announced that he was submitting a report for dismissal from his post. Drapaty called his decision "a conscious step dictated by my personal sense of responsibility for the tragedy at Cherkaske training ground in Dnipropetrovsk region, which resulted in the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers."
On June 1, Russian troops launched a missile strike on the location of one of the training units of the Ukrainian Army's Ground Forces. As a result of the strike, as of 12:50, 12 people were reported dead and more than 60 wounded.
As reported by the spokesman for the Ground Forces, Vitaliy Sarantsov, in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine, the strike was carried out with an Iskander missile. The attacked training unit is located in Dnipropetrovsk region. Drapaty became the new commander of the Ukrainian Army's Ground Forces in November 2024.
