Who is Mykhailo Drapatyi, Ukraine's new commander-in-chief?

Who is Mykhailo Drapatyi, Ukraine's new commander-in-chief?Image source, ReutersImage caption, Mykhailo Drapatyi, 43, is seen as a "humane and strong" military leaderByLaura GozziPublished7 minutes agoMaj Gen Mykhailo Drapatyi, 43, has replaced Oleksandr Syrskyi as Ukraine's commander-in-chief - the third since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.His nomination has been welcomed by both civil society and the military. Drapatyi's name was chanted during protests that started off backing his friend, ex-defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, but ended up demanding Syrskyi's dismissal. "There's no better person for this position nowadays in Ukraine," one Ukrainian soldier told the BBC.Drapatyi's support rests on years of military experience in post-Soviet Ukraine, his skills as field general and his reputation for being a humane and strong commander among the military. He graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Troops in 2004 and began serving as a lieutenant.Ten years later he gained prominence when footage went viral showing his infantry fighting vehicle smashing through a makeshift barricade.It was May 2014 and pro-Russian separatists had taken over parts of eastern Ukraine, when Drapatiy's battalion entered the southern city of Mariupol to free hostages held in the city's police department. He later recalled being told there were barricades more than a metre high ahead and being asked what to do. "I said, let's take it by storm. This video flew around the world," he said in an interview.Later that year, he was commended for withdrawing encircled Ukrainian units from a border area of the Luhansk region. Drapatiy returned to university in 2021 for further operational and strategic training and was presented with a sword of honour as top graduate in June 2021 by British ambassador Melinda Simmons.When Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Drapatiy was depu...