Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi and Acting Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara will have to work together to accomplish two key tasks: strengthening air defense and reforming military recruitment centers (TRCs).

President Volodymyr Zelensky made the statement during a joint media briefing with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Without a doubt, both Drapatyi and Khmara will have to accomplish the main tasks facing us today after this long and exhausting war for everyone. These are the tasks I assigned both to Fedorov and Syrskyi – because it cannot be separated into someone being responsible and someone not being responsible. The issues of closing the skies, the TRCs, and creating a normal – if we can put it that way – public face of mobilization – all of this will have to be done together, in coordination, until the war ends," Zelensky said in response to an Ukrinform correspondent’s question.

The President noted that, unfortunately, such cooperation had not been established earlier.

He also emphasized that Oleksandr Syrskyi’s experience should not be lost.

"It is very important to preserve the right transition and the stability of the military. I take this very seriously. Some things that Syrskyi did are not visible to us, but it is very important that we do not lose them. And some innovative ideas that Mykhailo Vasylovych (Drapatyi — ed.) has in mind – it is very important that we take them out of the drawers and implement them now," Zelensky said.

As reported by Ukrinform, on July 22, the Office of the President of Ukraine published decrees appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ihor Skybiuk as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, as well as dismissing Oleksandr Syrskyi and Andrii Hnatov.