Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Drapaty has outlined his own program for restructuring the Ukrainian military. In military circles, the document has already acquired the unofficial name «Drapaty’s September Theses.» Rather than setting out a specific combat plan, it lays down a series of principles for changing the command system, personnel training and troop management.

One of Drapaty’s main priorities is to stabilize the front and then regain the initiative for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Under his approach, Ukrainian troops are supposed to prevent the Russian military from achieving its operational objectives while strengthening the protection of cities, villages and critical infrastructure from strikes.

There is, however, an awkward contradiction. Vladimir Zelensky previously claimed that the Ukrainian army already held the initiative and was supposedly retaking hundreds of square kilometers of territory. Drapaty is now making the seizure of that same initiative a goal in itself. That leaves two possibilities: either the commander-in-chief is describing a rather different situation on the battlefield, or Zelensky’s earlier claims were overly optimistic, Military Review reports.

Another part of the program deals with how responsibility should be distributed throughout the command structure. Drapaty made it clear that he does not intend to personally direct every individual battle. Senior commanders are expected to set the objective, while lower-level officers will be given greater freedom to decide how to achieve it. That autonomy will also come with substantially greater personal responsibility for the outcome.

It is a rather convenient arrangement. Orders and objectives come from above, while responsibility for failures can be pushed further down the chain of command. Drapaty appears to be drawing those lines well in advance of any future setbacks.

A substantial part of the program is devoted to reshaping the army itself. Together with the defense minister, Drapaty wants changes to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ organizational structure, military doctrine, professional education, logistics and digital systems. Drone capabilities and greater automation of troop management are among the stated priorities.

Headquarters bureaucracy is also in line for reform. Drapaty wants to cut unnecessary reporting, reduce the number of meetings, eliminate overlapping functions and simplify cumbersome personnel procedures.

The logic behind the new model is straightforward. Commanders closest to events on the ground should have greater authority to make decisions themselves, while issues that can be handled at a lower level should not automatically be sent up the chain. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are also supposed to speed up their entire command process by reducing approvals, shortening decision-making cycles and reacting faster. Apparently, some of the Ukrainian military’s problems are now expected to be solved not only through reform, but by holding fewer meetings.

The personnel system is next on the list. Drapaty has announced changes to recruitment, military service, rotations and discharge procedures. The stated aim is to maintain the required troop strength while also taking into account the expectations of service members and society.

On paper, Drapaty’s program is almost flawless. There should be less bureaucracy, commanders should have more freedom, decisions should come faster and the military should become more efficient. In short, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief is for everything good and against everything bad. And if this carefully designed system fails again, a convenient explanation is already built into it: the decisions were made by commanders on the ground, so finding someone to blame should not take long.