Chief of the General Staff (Ukraine)

Posted on by

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chief of the General Staff (Ukrainian: Начальник Генерального штабу) is the head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the military staff of the Forces. He/she is appointed by the President of Ukraine.[2]

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 Serhiy Shaptala.

Chiefs of General Staff[edit]

Armed Forces of Ukraine[edit]

The 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.
–
Zhyvytsia, GeorgiyLieutenant General
Georgiy Zhyvytsia [uk]
(1937–2015)
Acting		 23 December 1991 4 June 1992 164 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7]
1
Sobkov, VasylLieutenant General
Vasyl Sobkov [uk]
(1944–2020)		 4 June 1992 25 September 1992 113 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces .
–
Bizhan, IvanLieutenant General
Ivan Bizhan
(born 1941)
Acting		 25 September 1992 24 March 1993 180 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces .
2
Lopata, AnatoliyColonel General
Anatoliy Lopata [uk]
(born 1940)		 24 March 1993 10 February 1996 2 years, 323 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7][8]
3
Zatynaiko, OleksandrColonel General
Oleksandr Zatynaiko
(born 1949)		 12 March 1996 30 September 1998 2 years, 202 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7]
4
Shkidchenko, VolodymyrGeneral of Army of Ukraine
Volodymyr Shkidchenko
(born 1948)		 1 October 1998 13 November 2001 3 years, 43 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7]
–
Palchuk, MykolaLieutenant General
Mykola Palchuk [uk]
(1945–2016)
Acting		 13 November 2001 27 November 2001 14 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces .
5
Shulyak, PetroColonel General
Petro Shulyak
(born 1945)		 27 November 2001 28 July 2002 223 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7]
(3)
Zatynaiko, OleksandrColonel General
Oleksandr Zatynaiko
(born 1949)		 13 August 2002 3 June 2004 1 year, 295 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7][9]
6
Kirichenko, SerhiyGeneral of Army of Ukraine
Serhiy Kyrychenko
(born 1952)		 19 July 2004 18 November 2009
[a]		 7 years, 122 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [7][10]
7
Svyda, IvanColonel General
Ivan Svyda
(born 1950)		 18 November 2009 31 May 2010
[b]		 194 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [10][11]
8
Pedchenko, HryhoriyColonel General
Hryhoriy Pedchenko
(born 1955)		 31 May 2010 18 February 2012 1 year, 263 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [12][13][14]
9
Zamana, VolodymyrLieutenant General
Volodymyr Zamana
(born 1959)		 18 February 2012 19 February 2014 2 years, 1 day  Ukrainian Ground Forces [13][14]
10
Ilyin, YuriyAdmiral
Yuriy Ilyin
(born 1962)		 19 February 2014 28 February 2014 9 days  Ukrainian Navy [15][16]
11
Kutsyn, MykhailoLieutenant General
Mykhailo Kutsyn
(born 1957)		 28 February 2014 3 July 2014 125 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [17]
12
Muzhenko, ViktorGeneral of the Army of Ukraine
Viktor Muzhenko
(born 1961)		 3 July 2014 21 May 2019 4 years, 322 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [2][18]
13
Khomchak, RuslanLieutenant General
Ruslan Khomchak
(born 1967)		 21 May 2019 28 March 2020 312 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [18][3]
14
Korniychuk, SerhiyLieutenant General
Serhiy Korniychuk
(born 1965)		 28 March 2020 28 July 2021 1 year, 122 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [3]
15
Shaptala, SerhiyLieutenant General
Serhiy Shaptala
(born 1973)		 28 July 2021 Incumbent 1 year, 243 days  Ukrainian Ground Forces [19]

Historical offices[edit]

Ukrainian People’s Republic[edit]

Ukrainian General Staff
No. Portrait Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff Took office Left office Time in office
1
Bobrovsky, BorysMajor General
Borys Bobrovsky [uk]
(1868–1933)		 November 1917 March 1918 4 months
2
Slyvynsky, OleksandrColonel
Oleksandr Slyvynsky [uk]
(1886–1956)		 8 February 1918 12 February 1918 4 days
3
Osetsky, OleksandrEnsign general
Oleksander Osetsky
(1873–1937)		 12 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
Tyutyunnyk, VasylEnsign general
Vasyl Tyutyunnyk [uk]
(1890–1919)		 1919 8 September 1919 8 days
2
Sinclair, VolodymyrColonel
Volodymyr Sinclair
(1887–1919)		 8 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
Sinclair, VolodymyrColonel
Volodymyr Sinclair
(1887–1919)		 28 October 1918 19 August 1921 2 years, 295 days
2
Petriv, VsevolodColonel
Vsevolod Petriv
(1883–1948)		 19 August 1921 June 1922 8 days

West Ukrainian National Republic[edit]

Ukrainian Galician Army
General Bulawa

General Bulawa was a name of the General Staff of Ukraine in 1917–1920.[21]
  1. ^ Tendered resignation in early October.
  2. ^ Submitted a letter of resignation on 29 May 2010.

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Zelensky goes for another three major replacements in Army ranks”.
  2. ^ a b Poroshenko appointed the new chief of General Staff. Ukrayinska Pravda. July 3, 2014
  3. ^ a b c Zelensky appoints Khomchak Chief Commander of Armed Forces, Korniychuk Chief of General Staff, Interfax-Ukraine (28 March 2020)
  4. ^ “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.
  5. ^ “Poltorak quits military service, continues to lead Defense ministry as civilian – Poroshenko”. UNIAN. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ Viktor Chechevatov Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Новини Управління Прес-служби МО
  9. ^ “Zatynaiko appointed head of Ukraine’s General Staff,” Interfax, 13 August 2002
  10. ^ a b ru:Педченко, Григорий Николаевич, Kyiv Post (November 14, 2009)
  11. ^ Chief of General Staff Svyda resigns, Kyiv Post (May 29, 2010)
  12. ^ By the Presidential decree №656/2010
  13. ^ a b Yanukovych reshuffles leadership of defense ministry, army, Kyiv Post (18 February 2012)
  14. ^ 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)
  15. ^ “Янукович сменил главнокомандующего Вооруженных сил”. 19 February 2014.
  16. ^ Ilyin dismissed as head of Ukraine’s General Staff, commander-in-chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces, Interfax-Ukraine (28 February 2014)
  17. ^ Mykhailo Kutsyn appointed chief of general staff – commander-in-chief of Ukrainian army, Interfax-Ukraine (28 February 2014)
  18. ^ a b “President Zelensky appoints new chief of Ukrainian army’s general staff”. UNIAN. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  19. ^ “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”.
  20. ^ Army of the Ukrainian National Republic
  21. ^ General Bulawa at the Handbook on history of Ukraine