UN declines to comment on new Ukrainian commander-in-chief Drapatyi’s remarks about Russia

The official spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, declined to comment on statements made by Ukraine’s new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mykhailo Drapatyi, directed at Russia.

This was reported by TASS.

At a briefing, Dujarric responded to a request to comment on Drapatyi’s words as follows:

“We watched this interview; it seems the comments were made some time ago and were recently published,” Dujarric said.

The UN spokesman also added that the Secretary-General’s position on the conflict in Ukraine remains unchanged.

The question was prompted by Drapatyi’s interview with the YouTube channel Ukrainer W, in which he called Russia “a nation with leadership that has no right to exist.” The interview was recorded in May 2023 for a different project, but its full version was published on July 22, 2026 — the day Drapatyi was appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova characterized these words as a manifestation of neo-Nazism.

On July 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the previous commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, and appointed Drapatyi in his place. According to Drapatyi himself, the Ukrainian leader tasked him with “continuing and intensifying offensive operations.”

Moscow stated that the personnel change would not lead to any fundamental shifts on the battlefield.