Less than a week has passed since the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, when a fake premium account on the X network, created in the name of Major General Mykhailo Drapaty, has already gathered almost 7,000 subscribers.
Less than a week has passed since the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, when a fake premium account on the X network, created in the name of Major General Mykhailo Drapaty, has already gathered almost 7,000 subscribers.
The @Drapatyi_M account, created this month, has been very active since Major General Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed the new head of the Ukrainian military on Tuesday, with at least 22 posts appearing there in the past five days.
On Sunday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that the account was fake and published a list of Drapaty's "only official pages." The @Drapatyi_M page was not among them.
We inform you that the only official pages of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapaty, on social networks are:
— General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (@GeneralStaffUA) July 26, 2026
⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zpgI7yfETA
The X network allows the creation of parody or satirical accounts of famous people and public figures, but usually marks them with a "parody" sign to indicate that it is not a real page.
However, @Drapatyi_M doesn't seem to be doing it for fun at all.
The account in X imitates standard reports and news that the Ukrainian leadership usually publishes: from words of gratitude to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for the meeting held to an alleged discussion of Patriot missiles with Raytheon management.
"We are moving the war to Russian territory and intensifying strikes with long-range weapons," reads the description from July 22 under a photo of Drapaty and Ukraine's acting defense minister, Yevhen Khmara, shaking hands during a meeting.
And on Sunday, one of the account's posts caught the attention — and outrage — of several Ukrainian figures. @Drapatyi_M announced the start of an "audit" of Ukraine's security forces, stating that there would be no "untouchables" in the investigation.
An audit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has begun.
— Mykhailo Drapatyi (@Drapatyi_M) July 26, 2026
My goal is not to find the guilty, but to honestly assess the real state of affairs in each military unit. We need to know the truth about the level of combat readiness, support, manning, personnel training, and management effectiveness.
None… pic.twitter.com/Ajq5pTLdM1
This account was exposed by Serhiy Sternenko on Sunday. He wrote: "Mykhailo Drapaty currently does not have a Twitter page. The statement that is spreading on social networks is fake."
X gives a blue checkmark to accounts that pay for the $8-a-month premium service, but the company has previously stated that the mark does not indicate identity verification. However, there has historically been confusion about whether the badge signifies authenticity, as that is how the platform marked verified profiles when it was still Twitter.
Official government accounts usually receive a gray mark.
