Drapatyi’s big reshuffle: Ukraine reshapes Donetsk front command as Russia closes in on Sloviansk and weighs new mobilization

Two newly created force groupings under some of Ukraine's best-known commanders will oversee much of the defense of Donetsk Oblast, hromadske has learned.

Andrii Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, will be responsible for the Lyman sector and the Kramatorsk-Kostiantynivka area. Denys Prokopenko, commander of the National Guard's 1st Azov Corps, will oversee the Dobropillia sector and areas of the front southwest of the city.

The changes come as Ukrainian forces prepare for what senior officers describe as a potentially decisive phase of the battle for Donetsk Oblast.

“There isn't just a battle for Donbas there. What is probably the main battle of this year and the next is now unfolding,” one Ukrainian general told hromadske.

Russian forces within artillery range of Sloviansk

The situation is particularly difficult around Sloviansk, one of the largest Ukrainian-controlled cities remaining in Donetsk Oblast.

Russian positions are now seven to 10 kilometers (4–6 miles) from Sloviansk on the Lyman axis, Mayor Vadym Liakh said. Russian artillery is already capable of striking the city, which Liakh described as a frontline city.

The mayor said the closest section of the front has remained largely unchanged for about a month, but Russian attacks on Sloviansk continue daily and residents are being urged to evacuate.

An officer from Ukraine's 11th Army Corps told hromadske that Russia had reinforced the Sloviansk sector with its 123rd Brigade, previously involved in fighting around Siversk. Russian forces have gained positions from which they can threaten Ukrainian logistics, the officer said.

Ukraine has also been reinforcing the area with additional units.

Drapatyi has appointed new commanders to the 11th and 19th Army Corps, which are responsible for the defense of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka areas respectively.

Emil Ishkulov, previously deputy commander of the Air Assault Forces' 7th Rapid Response Corps, has been appointed commander of the 11th Corps. Valerii Skred, who had served as acting commander of the 19th Corps for the past two months, has been formally appointed to lead it.

Both will operate under Biletskyi's newly created grouping.

A new command structure for the eastern front

The creation of the groupings led by Biletskyi and Prokopenko is part of Drapatyi's broader effort to reorganize command and distribute resources more effectively, a source in the General Staff told hromadske.

“One of the priority goals is to stop the enemy's advance,” the source said. “Drapatyi is gradually implementing the plan he developed a month ago. Certain steps are being taken within that plan to restore order and rationally distribute resources.”

The changes have received mixed reactions inside the military.

One officer told hromadske that putting several corps under Biletskyi and Prokopenko could help other formations adopt practices used by the 3rd Army Corps and Azov, both regarded as among Ukraine's more effective formations.

Another questioned whether creating additional command structures would add unnecessary layers of bureaucracy.

It also remains unclear how the new structure will affect the role of the East force grouping, currently led by Maj. Gen. Viktor Nikoliuk, as the new commands take responsibility for much of the eastern front.

Ukraine expects Russia could mobilize hundreds of thousands more

The restructuring comes as Ukrainian intelligence agencies warn that Russia is preparing options for another large-scale mobilization.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency and Foreign Intelligence Service said in an August 27 briefing that the Russian General Staff had prepared a plan under which Moscow could mobilize an additional 300,000 people in 2026 and another 300,000 in 2027.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia is considering the move amid mounting battlefield losses and slowing recruitment of contract soldiers.

No political decision on a new mobilization has been announced. Ukrainian intelligence assesses that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is most likely to make a decision after Russia's State Duma elections, scheduled for September 18–20.

The intelligence agencies said Russia lost about 240,000 personnel between January and July 2026, including at least 140,000 irrecoverable losses, while recruiting fewer than 232,000 contract soldiers over the same period. The figures could not be independently verified.

Russian authorities are also preparing mechanisms that could support a new mobilization drive, according to Ukrainian intelligence, including tighter military registration controls, electronic call-up notices and expanded recruitment from prisons.

For Drapatyi, the potential influx of new Russian forces adds urgency to an overhaul already taking place while Ukrainian troops are fighting to hold the remaining major cities of Donetsk Oblast.

The outcome of those changes may be tested soonest around Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka - the urban belt that increasingly forms the center of the battle for the region.