Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Telegram
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi has prepared and submitted a comprehensive “war plan” to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Ukrainska Pravda reported on October 5, citing senior Ukrainian officials. The classified document has been under review by the council for several weeks.
The plan is reportedly intended to define what the Ukrainian Defense Forces need to do to preserve the state and set specific timelines for those measures. It also outlines new approaches to military defense, including whether troops serving on the front line as “eyes and ears” should remain in positions where they have little or no ability to engage the enemy.
The report comes amid longstanding complaints from some Ukrainian commanders that the military lacks a clear long-term strategic vision and a defined end state for the war.
“We need a grand strategy spanning roughly 30 years so that we, as battlefield commanders, understand where we are heading,” a senior officer from one of Ukraine’s army corps told Ukrainska Pravda.
Changes to Ukraine’s military leadership
Drapatyi is also continuing a major personnel and command restructuring within the Armed Forces. According to Ukrainska Pravda, several dozen colonels, brigadier generals and other senior officers have been transferred to the officer reserve battalion, known as BRez, over the past month and a half.
One source told the publication that about 15 officers from the General Staff’s International Cooperation Directorate were transferred to the reserve in a single day. Among the officers reportedly moved to BRez were 11th Corps commander Oleksii Maistrenko, 19th Corps commander Oleksandr Bakulin, Missile Forces and Artillery commander Andrii Malinovskyi, and Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Nesterenko.
At the same time, Drapatyi has brought several officers who had previously been removed from field command back into senior positions, including Serhii Sobko and Emil Ishkulov.
Decentralizing military command
Drapatyi has also moved away from the more hands-on style associated with his predecessor, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Under the new approach, the commander-in-chief does not directly issue routine orders to individual brigades and corps but operates through troop groupings and operational commands.
Ukrainska Pravda reported that the change is intended to give frontline commanders greater freedom while allowing Drapatyi to focus on strategic and systemic issues. The Armed Forces have also been reorganized, including the creation of the Centre and Azov troop groupings.
Another priority is expanding the use of Ukraine’s Delta situational-awareness system. Drapatyi wants all commanders to work with the system as part of a broader effort to introduce more digital tools into military decision-making.
The reforms follow Drapatyi’s earlier decision to repeal more than 30 outdated General Staff orders and directives, while also reviewing the military’s organizational structure and senior officer corps.
The “war plan” itself has not been made public, and its specific operational recommendations remain classified.
