RENOWNED GENERALS from George Patton, who strutted about in cavalry boots and carried two ivory-handled pistols, to the ascetic Bernard Montgomery, understood that their troops’ morale depends a lot on the image they project of themselves.(著名将领们明白士气取决于自我形象。) Few will have taken the job with the legendary status of Mykhailo Drapaty (pictured), who was named the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces on July 21st, replacing Oleksandr Syrsky.
从穿着骑兵靴、携带两把象牙柄手枪趾高气扬的乔治·巴顿，到苦行僧般的伯纳德·蒙哥马利，这些著名将领都明白，部队的士气在很大程度上取决于他们自我塑造的形象。很少有人能像米哈伊洛·德拉帕蒂（如图）那样以传奇般的地位就任此职，他于7月21日被任命为乌克兰武装部队总司令，接替亚历山大·瑟尔斯基。
Many hope his appointment will lead to the modernisation of Ukraine’s armed forces. Though they have shown an unexpected talent for innovation and adaptability in the years since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, they have been unable entirely to shake off(摆脱，甩掉) the stultifying(令人窒息的，扼杀活力的) rigidity(僵化，刻板) of their old Soviet-era command structures.
许多人希望他的任命将推动乌克兰武装部队的现代化。尽管自2022年俄罗斯全面入侵以来，乌克兰军队展现出了出人意料的创新和适应能力，但他们始终未能完全摆脱旧苏联时代指挥体系那种令人窒息的僵化。
General Drapaty, aged 43, first rose to fame(成名，崭露头角) as a young major in 2014 when Russia-backed separatists(分离主义者) tried to seize Mariupol, a city on the south-east coast. Leading from the front(身先士卒，前线领导) in command of a column of four armoured vehicles, he smashed through(冲破，猛撞) rebel barricades and into the city. Later that year he led his battalion on a raid along the Russian border to cut off separatist fighters. His force, along with others, came under fire from Russian troops and was encircled(被包围). When a sister battalion(友邻营，兄弟营) surrendered, he led some 260 troops back to Ukrainian lines.
现年43岁的德拉帕蒂将军最初在2014年以少校身份崭露头角，当时俄罗斯支持的分离主义分子试图夺取东南沿海城市马里乌波尔。他身先士卒，指挥一支由四辆装甲车组成的纵队，冲破叛军的路障进入城市。同年晚些时候，他率领营队沿俄罗斯边境进行突袭，以切断分离主义武装。他的部队与其他部队一起遭到俄军火力攻击并被包围。当友邻营投降时，他带领约260名士兵返回乌克兰防线。