# Ukrainian Armed Forces Command Structure An ASCII-art map of the **Ukrainian Armed Forces** (Zbroini Syly Ukrainy, ZSU) command structure — from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief through the Ministry of Defence, the General Staff, the seven service branches, and operational commands. Leadership reflects the **post-shakeup structure as of August 11, 2026**, following the firing of Defence Minister [[Mykhailo Fedorov]] (July 15) and Commander-in-Chief [[Oleksandr Syrsky]] (July 21). Companion to the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] event page. Where that page tracks the war's arc, this maps *who commands what* in the Ukrainian military that is fighting it. > [!note] How to read this chart > **(acting)** marks an official serving in an acting capacity. Bracketed dates show when the current holder was appointed. Abbreviations: MG = Major General, BG = Brigadier General, Lt Gen = Lieutenant General, VAdm = Vice Admiral, Maj = Major. Names inside the code fence are plain text (not wikilinks). The NSDC and security services are included for context but sit outside the military chain of command. ``` UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES — COMMAND STRUCTURE │ as of August 11, 2026 · post-shakeup │ (acting) = acting capacity │ ■ SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF │ President Volodymyr Zelensky │ ├─◆ NATL SECURITY & DEFENCE COUNCIL (NSDC) │ Chair .......... Volodymyr Zelensky │ Secretary ...... Ihor Klymenko │ [appt Aug 3 2026; replaced Umerov] │ ├─◆ MINISTRY OF DEFENCE │ Minister .......... Yevhenii Khmara │ [acting Jul 20; confirmed Aug 19; Fedorov fired Jul 15] │ ├─◆ COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES │ │ Gen Mykhailo Drapatyi, age 43 │ │ [appt Jul 21; Syrsky fired Jul 21] │ │ ex-Ground Forces commander, born 1982 │ │ │ ├─◆ ARMED FORCES BRANCHES (7) │ │ │ │ │ ├─ GROUND FORCES │ │ │ MG Hennadii Shapovalov [Jun 2025] │ │ │ │ │ ├─ AIR FORCE │ │ │ Lt Gen A. Kryvonozhko (acting) │ │ │ [since Aug 2024; Oleshchuk fired] │ │ │ │ │ ├─ NAVAL FORCES │ │ │ VAdm Oleksiy Neizhpapa [Jun 2020] │ │ │ │ │ ├─ AIR ASSAULT FORCES │ │ │ BG Oleh Apostol [Jun 2025] │ │ │ │ │ ├─ SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES │ │ │ MG Oleksandr Trepak [May 2024] │ │ │ │ │ ├─ TERRITORIAL DEFENSE FORCES │ │ │ MG Ihor Plakhuta [Feb 2024] │ │ │ │ │ └─ UNMANNED SYSTEMS FORCES [est. 2024] │ │ Maj Robert Brovdi "Magyar" │ │ [Jun 2025; replaced Sukharevsky] │ │ │ └─◆ OPERATIONAL COMMANDS │ │ │ ├─ JOINT FORCES COMMAND │ │ Cmdr: [TBD — Drapatyi promoted out] │ │ │ └─ CORPS SYSTEM (18 corps, est. 2025) │ Replaced operational-strategic groups │ (Khortytsia · Tavriia · Odesa · etc.) │ Sectors: eastern · southern │ southwestern · northern │ └─◆ RELATED SECURITY SERVICES (outside ZSU) SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) GUR (Military Intelligence) National Guard of Ukraine State Border Guard Service ``` ## Notes ### The July 2026 shakeup The command structure above reflects the most significant Ukrainian military leadership crisis since the start of the full-scale [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]. **Mykhailo Fedorov** (fired July 15) — the popular, tech-focused Defence Minister who championed data-driven procurement, drone warfare at scale, and the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces. Previously served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, where he built the Diia platform. Appointed Defence Minister in January 2026, he lasted barely six months before being removed in a cabinet reshuffle triggered by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko's resignation. Fedorov had publicly clashed with Commander-in-Chief [[Oleksandr Syrsky]] over military doctrine, accusing Syrsky of blocking innovation and "splitting our country." His firing sparked mass protests across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. **Oleksandr Syrsky** (fired July 21) — Commander-in-Chief since February 2024, when he replaced the wildly popular Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Soviet-trained (born in Vladimir, Russia), Syrsky led the defense of Kyiv in 2022 and the Kharkiv counteroffensive. But he was criticized for a centralized, Soviet-era command style, high casualty tolerance, and resistance to [[Mykhailo Fedorov]]'s tech-forward reforms. His dismissal came after six days of protests demanding his removal and Fedorov's reinstatement — the protesters got the first but not the second. **[[Mykhailo Drapatyi]]** (appointed July 21) — nicknamed "The Flying BMP," 43 years old, who in 2024 became the youngest-ever commander of the Ground Forces (Reuters; corrected 2026-10-06 from "youngest-ever Commander-in-Chief"). A combat veteran whose career was shaped entirely by the post-2014 wars, Drapatyi represents a generational break from Soviet-trained senior officers. He pushed for decentralized command, better recruitment and training pipelines, and integration of drone/unmanned systems into operational doctrine. Previously commanded the Joint Forces and before that the Khortytsia operational-strategic group on the eastern front. Seen by reformists as the bridge between Fedorov's tech vision and traditional military command. **Yevhenii Khmara** (acting Defence Minister from July 20; confirmed by the Rada on August 19, 2026, with 312 votes) — a security service officer and major general who previously led the SBU's Alpha Special Operations Center and served as acting SBU chief. [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] cited Khmara's experience in "technology-driven strike operations" as the reason for the appointment. Zelensky indicated he would nominate Khmara for the permanent post. **Ihor Klymenko** (NSDC Secretary, August 3) — former Interior Minister, appointed after Rustem Umerov moved to head the Foreign Intelligence Service. Klymenko is the third NSDC Secretary in 15 months (Lytvynenko, Umerov, Klymenko), reflecting the rapid churn in Ukraine's security leadership. ### RWKB angle The Fedorov-vs-Syrsky clash is fundamentally a conflict between tech-forward and traditional military doctrine — a microcosm of the broader debate about how wars are fought in the [[Artificial Intelligence]] and drone era. Fedorov's vision of data-driven, decentralized warfare (embodied by the Unmanned Systems Forces and commanders like Robert Brovdi "Magyar") directly challenged the institutional culture Syrsky represented. This tension parallels debates in Western militaries about [[Hybrid Warfare]] and the integration of autonomous systems. Zelensky's political management — firing both the reformer (Fedorov) and the traditionalist (Syrsky) — is a classic attempt to reset by removing both poles of a factional conflict. That the protest movement forced his hand on Syrsky while failing to secure Fedorov's reinstatement reveals the limits of wartime democratic pressure even in a society as politically engaged as Ukraine's. ### Structural notes The corps system (18 corps as of 2026) replaced the operational-strategic groups (Khortytsia, Tavriia, Odesa, Pivnich) that served as front-line umbrella commands through 2024-2025. This reform, initiated by Syrsky, transitioned from temporary tactical groups to permanent corps, though most corps still do not command all their assigned brigades and instead hold sectors of the front line with mixed units. The Unmanned Systems Forces, established in 2024, are the world's first dedicated drone branch of any military. Under Brovdi ("Magyar"), the branch has unified drone command, standardized training, and enabled deep-strike operations — a capability that has reshaped the war's dynamics. ## See also - [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] — the full-scale conflict this command structure serves - [[Ukraine]] — country overview - [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] — Supreme Commander-in-Chief - [[Mykhailo Drapatyi]] — current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces - [[Oleksandr Syrsky]] — former Commander-in-Chief (fired July 2026) - [[Mykhailo Fedorov]] — former Defence Minister (fired July 2026) - [[Executive Branch Org Chart]] — the companion U.S. executive branch map (same format) - [[Hybrid Warfare]] — the doctrinal framework Ukraine is pioneering - [[Ukrainian Military Doctrine Split]] — the Fedorov-vs-Syrsky doctrinal clash behind the July 2026 shakeup - [[NATO]] — Ukraine's primary security partner - [[Vladimir Putin]] — the adversary driving Ukraine's wartime posture - [[Information Warfare]] — dimension of the conflict