--- title: "Drapatyi Publishes the AFU's 'Leadership Principles': Eight Priorities in Which People, Not Equipment, Are Named the Top Value" description: "AFU Supreme Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi published the 'Leadership Principles' document with eight priorities for troop development. People, not equipment, are named the top value. A reform of the service, rotation, and discharge system is promised." date: 2026-09-02T10:58:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/drapatyi-leadership-principles-afu-8-priorities tags: [ukraine-war, vsu, drapatyi, military-reform, leadership, ukraine-defense] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Drapatyi Publishes the AFU's 'Leadership Principles': Eight Priorities in Which People, Not Equipment, Are Named the Top Value ![Ukrainian military officer in digital camouflage with a Ukraine flag patch, illustrating the published 'Leadership Principles' that put people above equipment](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/02/drapatyi-principy-liderstva-vsu-8-prioritetov/drapatyi-principy-liderstva-vsu-8-prioritetov-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Drapatyi published the 'Leadership Principles' document with 8 priorities, 14 requirements for commanders, and 8 expectations of staffs - The top value of the AFU per the document is people, not equipment; a commander is obliged to protect his subordinates - For the first time at the supreme commander level, the issues of terms of service, rotation, and discharge are fixed - Staffs are required to answer the question: 'Does this enhance our ability to fight?' - Drapatyi took over the AFU on July 22, replacing Oleksandr Syrskyi Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi published on the official AFU website a document titled 'Leadership Principles of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Development of the Troops in Wartime Conditions.' According to RBC-Ukraine, the text defines the command's strategic intent, formulates eight priorities for troop development, fourteen requirements for commanders at all levels, and eight expectations of the staffs. Specific tasks and performance indicators, by the author's design, will be set out in separate regulatory acts. The document became the first systematic manifesto of the new supreme commander, who took over command on July 22 in place of Oleksandr Syrskyi. ### People as the Central Value The central thesis of the document concerns not weapons, not structural reforms, and not operational tasks, but people. The text states outright that 'the most valuable thing in the AFU is our people,' and therefore every commander is obliged to protect them. From this principle follows a list of specific commander duties: to prepare a soldier for combat, to shield him from unjustified risk, to care for the wounded, to honor the memory of the fallen, and to support their families. Drapatyi emphasizes that caring for people is not a function separate from combat effectiveness, but its foundation. Commanders are instructed to clearly distinguish decisiveness from recklessness, so as not to substitute one for the other in combat conditions. ### Requirements for Commanders and Staffs For staffs at all levels, the document establishes a control question that must underlie every decision: 'Does this enhance our ability to fight and achieve success?' If the answer is negative, the process must be changed. The staff, according to the text, must 'be smaller where possible, faster where necessary, and become more useful every day.' Commanders and staffs are required to give honest assessments in which optimism, fear, or personal ambitions must not distort the real picture. It is separately noted that there is no place in the Armed Forces for corruption, abuse of power, harassment, or discrimination, and that every commander bears responsibility for the rational use of state resources. ### Reform of the Service System and Veteran Support For the first time at the level of the Supreme Commander's principles, the issues most frequently raised by servicemembers and their families are named outright: terms of service, the order of rotation, and the conditions of discharge. The document declares the intent to change the system of recruitment, training, service, rotation, retention, and discharge so that it takes into account the needs of both the troops and the servicemembers themselves. The text formulates the goal to 'ensure conditions under which military service is predictable, fair, and professional, and personnel decisions are based on the needs of the troops, professionalism, and service results.' Support for servicemembers, according to the document, does not end with the completion of military service: veterans must be provided with assistance, rehabilitation, recognition, and opportunities, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs, government bodies, and volunteer organizations. ### Innovation and Adaptation Faster Than the Enemy One of the key priorities of the document is adapting and implementing innovations faster than the enemy does, in order to carry out combat tasks with fewer losses. Drapatyi demands creating an environment in which 'good ideas can come from any servicemember, regardless of his rank or position,' and emphasizes the principle of joint combat operations. Thus, the document effectively enshrines a bottom-up feedback culture as an element of combat effectiveness. ### Context of the Appointment Recall, Mykhailo Drapatyi took over the AFU on July 22, replacing Oleksandr Syrskyi in the post. President Volodymyr Zelensky named the main tasks of the new supreme commander as rebuilding the defense system and developing an updated strategy. The published 'Leadership Principles' document can be regarded as the first systematic response to these tasks: it sets the value framework and management guidelines within which the command's further work will be organized. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Drapatyi Promised to Change the AFU Service System and Named New Principles](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/drapatiy-poobitsyav-zminiti-sistemu-sluzhbi-1788346477.html) - Основной источник: публикация Π΄ΠΎΠΊΡƒΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π° Π½Π° сайтС Π’Π‘Π£, содСрТаниС ΠΏΡ€ΠΈΠ½Ρ†ΠΈΠΏΠΎΠ², Ρ†ΠΈΡ‚Π°Ρ‚Ρ‹ ΠΈΠ· тСкста - [Less Bureaucracy and Predictable Service: Drapatyi Defined the AFU Management Principles](https://fakty.com.ua/ru/ukraine/20260902-menshe-byurokratiyi-ta-prognozovana-sluzhba-drapatyj-vyznachyv-pryntsypy-upravlinnya-zsu/) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Ρ‚Π΅ΠΌΡƒ Ρ€Π΅Ρ„ΠΎΡ€ΠΌΡ‹ систСмы слуТбы ΠΈ управлСния - [Drapatyi Promised to Change the AFU Service System and Named New Principles](https://news.finance.ua/ru/drapatyy-poobeshhal-izmenit-sistemu-sluzhby-v-vsu-i-nazval-novye-principy) - ΠšΡ€ΠΎΡΡ-ΠΏΡ€ΠΎΠ²Π΅Ρ€ΠΊΠ° содСрТания Π΄ΠΎΠΊΡƒΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π° ΠΈ ΠΎΠ±Π΅Ρ‰Π°Π½ΠΈΠΉ ΠΏΠΎ Ρ€Π΅Ρ„ΠΎΡ€ΠΌΠ΅ - [Drapatyi Defined Key Priorities for the AFU, Requirements for Commanders, and Tasks for Staffs](https://kp.ua/politics/a735431-drapatij-opredelil-kljuchevye-prioritety-dlja-vsu-trebovanija-k-komandirovam-i-zadachi-dlja-shtabov) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ структуру Π΄ΠΎΠΊΡƒΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π°: ΠΏΡ€ΠΈΠΎΡ€ΠΈΡ‚Π΅Ρ‚Ρ‹, трСбования ΠΊ ΠΊΠΎΠΌΠ°Π½Π΄ΠΈΡ€Π°ΠΌ, Π·Π°Π΄Π°Ρ‡ΠΈ ΡˆΡ‚Π°Π±ΠΎΠ² ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What are the 'Leadership Principles' and who published them? **A:** This is a document by AFU Supreme Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi titled 'Leadership Principles of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Development of the Troops in Wartime Conditions.' It was published on the official AFU website and defines eight priorities, fourteen requirements for commanders, and eight expectations of staffs. ### Q: What is the top value enshrined in the document? **A:** People are named the top value. The document states outright that 'the most valuable thing in the AFU is our people,' and every commander is obliged to protect them. Caring for people is viewed not as a separate function but as the foundation of combat effectiveness. ### Q: What does the document say about terms of service and rotation? **A:** For the first time at the level of the Supreme Commander's principles, the issues of terms of service, rotation, and the order of discharge are fixed. The document declares the intent to change the system so that military service is 'predictable, fair, and professional,' and personnel decisions are based on the needs of the troops and service results. ### Q: When did Drapatyi take over the AFU? **A:** Mykhailo Drapatyi took over the Armed Forces of Ukraine on July 22, replacing Oleksandr Syrskyi in the post. President Zelensky named the main tasks of the new supreme commander as rebuilding the defense and an updated strategy. ### Q: What control question is established for staffs? **A:** For staffs at all levels, the document establishes a control question: 'Does this enhance our ability to fight and achieve success?' If the answer is negative, the process must be changed. The staff must be 'smaller where possible, faster where necessary, and become more useful every day.'