The Chief of the General Staff (Ukrainian: Начальник Генерального штабу, romanized: Nachalnyk Heneralnoho shtabu) is the head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the military staff of the Forces. He is appointed by the President of Ukraine.[2]
Chief of the General Staff | |
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Начальник Генерального штабу | |
![]() Sleeve patch of the General Staff | |
![]() Flag of the Chief of the General Staff | |
Ministry of Defence | |
Member of | the General Staff |
Reports to | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces |
Appointer | President of Ukraine |
Formation | April 1918 (historical) 23 December 1991 (current) |
First holder | Colonel Oleksandr Slyvynsky |
Since a decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 March 2020, the posts of Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces have been separate.[3] Previously the Chief of the General Staff also served as the Commander-in-Chief when a civilian was the Minister of Defense[4] (before 1 January 2019 it was not a requirement that the Minister of Defense be a civilian).[5]
The current Chief of the General Staff is Anatoliy Barhylevych.
Chiefs of General Staff
editArmed Forces of Ukraine
editThe office created upon the reorganization of the Soviet Kyiv Military District when its head, Colonel General Viktor Chechevatov,[6] after receiving the offer to be appointed to the post, refused to pledge his allegiance to the Ukrainian people. Originally it was known as Chief of the Headquarters and was designated as the First Deputy of the Minister of Defense. In 1996 it was changed to Chief of the General Staff. In 2002 as part of military reform, the post was separated from the civil service and lost its ministerial deputy functions. In 2005 Chief of the General Staff was reaffirmed as the primary commander of the Armed Forces in the country and was granted a parallel post of Commander-in-Chief. In 2020 another reorganization took place as part of ongoing military reform triggered by the Russian aggression and the post of Commander-in-Chief was split into a separate post.
No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | Georgiy Zhyvytsia (1937–2015) Acting | Lieutenant General23 December 1991 | 4 June 1992 | 164 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7] | |
1 | Vasyl Sobkov (1944–2020) | Lieutenant General4 June 1992 | 25 September 1992 | 113 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | . | |
– | Ivan Bizhan (born 1941) Acting | Lieutenant General25 September 1992 | 24 March 1993 | 180 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | . | |
2 | Anatoliy Lopata (born 1940) | Colonel General24 March 1993 | 10 February 1996 | 2 years, 323 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7][8] | |
3 | Oleksandr Zatynaiko (born 1949) | Colonel General12 March 1996 | 30 September 1998 | 2 years, 202 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7] | |
4 | Volodymyr Shkidchenko (born 1948) | General of Army of Ukraine1 October 1998 | 13 November 2001 | 3 years, 43 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7] | |
– | Mykola Palchuk (1945–2016) Acting | Lieutenant General13 November 2001 | 27 November 2001 | 14 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | . | |
5 | Petro Shulyak (born 1945) | Colonel General27 November 2001 | 28 July 2002 | 223 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7] | |
(3) | Oleksandr Zatynaiko (born 1949) | Colonel General13 August 2002 | 3 June 2004 | 1 year, 295 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7][9] | |
6 | Serhiy Kyrychenko (born 1952) | General of Army of Ukraine19 July 2004 | 18 November 2009 [a] | 7 years, 122 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [7][10] | |
7 | Ivan Svyda (born 1950) | Colonel General18 November 2009 | 31 May 2010 [b] | 194 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [10][11] | |
8 | Hryhoriy Pedchenko (born 1955) | Colonel General31 May 2010 | 18 February 2012 | 1 year, 263 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [12][13][14] | |
9 | Volodymyr Zamana (born 1959) | Lieutenant General18 February 2012 | 19 February 2014 | 2 years, 1 day | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [13][14] | |
10 | Yuriy Ilyin (born 1962) | Admiral19 February 2014 | 28 February 2014 | 9 days | Ukrainian Navy | [15][16] | |
11 | Mykhailo Kutsyn (born 1957) | Lieutenant General28 February 2014 | 3 July 2014 | 125 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [17] | |
12 | Viktor Muzhenko (born 1961) | General of the Army of Ukraine3 July 2014 | 21 May 2019 | 4 years, 322 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [2][18] | |
13 | Ruslan Khomchak (born 1967) | Lieutenant General21 May 2019 | 28 March 2020 | 312 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [18][3] | |
14 | Serhiy Korniychuk (born 1965) | Lieutenant General28 March 2020 | 28 July 2021 | 1 year, 122 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [3] | |
15 | Serhiy Shaptala (born 1973) | Lieutenant General28 July 2021 | 9 February 2024 | 2 years, 196 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [19] | |
16 | Anatoliy Barhylevych (born 1969) | Lieutenant General9 February 2024 | Incumbent | 259 days | Ukrainian Ground Forces | [20] |
Historical offices
editUkrainian People's Republic
edit- Ukrainian General Staff
No. | Portrait | Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Borys Bobrovsky (1868–1933) | Major GeneralNovember 1917 | March 1918 | 4 months | |
2 | Oleksandr Slyvynsky (1886–1956) | Colonel8 February 1918 | 12 February 1918 | 4 days | |
3 | Oleksander Osetsky (1873–1937) | Ensign general12 February 1918 | August 1919 | 4 months |
- Headquarters of the UPR
No. | Portrait | Chief of the Headquarters of the UPR | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vasyl Tyutyunnyk (1890–1919) | Ensign general1919 | 8 September 1919 | 8 days | |
2 | Volodymyr Sinclair (1887–1919) | Colonel8 September 1919 | 26 September 1919 | 18 days |
- General Staff of UPR
No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff of UPR | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Volodymyr Sinclair (1887–1919) | Colonel28 October 1918 | 19 August 1921 | 2 years, 295 days | |
2 | Vsevolod Petriv (1883–1948) | Colonel19 August 1921 | June 1922 | 8 days |
West Ukrainian National Republic
edit
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General Bulawa was a name of the General Staff of Ukraine in 1917–1920.[22]
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Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Dmytro Basmat (9 February 2024). "Zelensky announces new chief of general staff". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ a b Poroshenko appointed the new chief of General Staff. Ukrayinska Pravda. July 3, 2014
- ^ a b c Zelensky appoints Khomchak Chief Commander of Armed Forces, Korniychuk Chief of General Staff, Interfax-Ukraine (28 March 2020)
- ^ "Про Положення про Генеральний штаб Збройних Сил України" [About the Regulations on the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- ^ "Poltorak quits military service, continues to lead Defense ministry as civilian – Poroshenko". UNIAN. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Viktor Chechevatov Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ministry of Defense' Army of Ukraine magazine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
- ^ Новини Управління Прес-служби МО
- ^ "Zatynaiko appointed head of Ukraine's General Staff," Interfax, 13 August 2002
- ^ a b ru:Педченко, Григорий Николаевич, Kyiv Post (November 14, 2009)
- ^ Chief of General Staff Svyda resigns, Kyiv Post (May 29, 2010)
- ^ By the Presidential decree №656/2010
- ^ a b Yanukovych reshuffles leadership of defense ministry, army, Kyiv Post (18 February 2012)
- ^ a b President appoints new Chief of General Staff of Ukraine Archived January 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, President.gov.ua (18 February 2012)
- ^ "Янукович сменил главнокомандующего Вооруженных сил". 19 February 2014.
- ^ Ilyin dismissed as head of Ukraine's General Staff, commander-in-chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces, Interfax-Ukraine (28 February 2014)
- ^ Mykhailo Kutsyn appointed chief of general staff - commander-in-chief of Ukrainian army, Interfax-Ukraine (28 February 2014)
- ^ a b "President Zelensky appoints new chief of Ukrainian army's general staff". UNIAN. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Regarding the change of the Chief of the General Staff of the AFU, the Commander of the Air Assault Troops of the AFU and the Commander of the JFO".
- ^ "Ucraina: Zelensky sostituisce anche il capo di stato maggiore" [Ukraine: Zelensky also replaces chief of staff]. rainews.it (in Italian). Rai News 24. 2024-02-10. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ Army of the Ukrainian National Republic
- ^ General Bulawa at the Handbook on history of Ukraine