Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, has ordered the construction of new shelters at training centers to protect soldiers from deadly Russian air strikes and to end outdoor tent encampments. The directive comes after a series of Russian attacks highlighted lax discipline at military bases, as Ukraine continues its battle against a larger and better-equipped Russian army.
Last month, Mykhailo Drapatiy resigned as commander of Ukraine’s ground forces following a Russian missile strike that killed 12 soldiers and injured dozens at a training center.
“My unconditional requirement is to ensure and improve the safety of soldiers at training centers and fields in the rear,” Syrskyi wrote on Telegram. “The accumulation of personnel and military equipment, and placing soldiers in tent camps, is prohibited.”
In addition to organizing the construction of new shelters, officials are also aiming to implement “additional engineering solutions,” Syrskyi emphasized.
In a recent attack on May 20, 2025, a Russian missile killed six Ukrainian soldiers and injured at least ten others at a Ukrainian firing range. On June 22, 2025, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and approximately twelve wounded by a Russian missile strike on a mechanized brigade training center.
Announcing his resignation on June 1, 2025, Drapatiy, former head of ground forces, said he hoped his resignation would set an example for other commanders. “We will not win this war if we do not create an army where honor is not just a word but an action,” he wrote on Facebook on June 1. “Where responsibility is not punishment, but the foundation of trust.”
Tens of thousands of people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.