He has also received several notable awards, including the full Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the Cross of Military Merit and Hero of Ukraine.

He graduated in 2004, after which he began service as a Lieutenant in the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which is based in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast.

[2][3] His battalion was deployed to eastern Ukraine in April 2014, taking part in the Battle of Mariupol in May that year.

Drapatyi's battalion was sent with armoured vehicles to free hostages and reinforce the units that were defending the station.

They travelled over 160 kilometres, taking control of several settlements,[1][5] though were eventually encircled by both Russian and Donetsk People's Republic forces near Chervonopartyzansk, Luhansk Oblast,[7] coming under BM-21 Grad and BM-27 Uragan rocket fire between 4–7 August.

[6] After his battalion was reconstituted,[6] he became a Lieutenant Colonel,[1] enrolling in the National Defense University of Ukraine in 2014 and, after graduating, became Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the 30th Mechanized Brigade.

[1][4][5] In April 2019 he became Colonel,[1][3] later handing command over in August 2019[3][5] so that he could undertake the two-year operational-tactical and operational-strategic courses at the National Defence University.

As a part of the latter, his forces stopped the offensive and counterattacked, advancing 6–23 kilometres and liberating several settlements in Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts.

[7] Drapatyi took command of the Luhansk Operational-Tactical Group between 5–10 September 2024,[7][9] where he again improved the situation on the front line.