Ruslan Borysovych Khomchak ( uk, Русла́н Бори́сович Хомча́к) is a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Colonel-general
Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...
who serves as the First Deputy Secretary of the
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...
DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE №322/2021 About the appointment of R. Khomchak as the First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (in Ukrainian) /ref> and formerhttps://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/758177.html Valerii Zaluzhnyi appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces instead of Khomchak – Zelensky's press secretary
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України, Holovnokomanduvach Zbroynykh syl Ukrayiny) is the professional head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The positi ...
, until 28 March 2020 also holding the post of
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Afg ...
.Zelensky appoints Khomchak Chief Commander of Armed Forces, Korniychuk Chief of General Staff
Interfax-Ukraine
The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...
(28 March 2020)
Previously from 21 May 2019, he combined this post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the post of
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Afg ...
. On 28 March 2020, a decree by President
Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
divided the posts of Commander in Chief and Chief of General Staff. On this day Zelensky dismissed Khomchak from the post of Chief of General Staff and appointed him Chief Commander of Armed Forces while simultaneously he appointed Serhiy Korniychuk Chief of the General Staff.
On July 27, 2021, Ruslan Khomchak was dismissed from the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and appointed as the First Deputy Secretary of the
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...
.
Biography
Khomchak was born in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
on 5 June 1967. He graduated from the
Moscow Higher Military Command School
The Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School ''"Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR"'' (abbreviated to MVOKU) is a higher military educational institution of the Russian Armed Forces.
History
The school was formed in December 15, 1917 (O.S., Decembe ...
in 1988. Khomchak then served in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and in the
Belarusian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
Armed Forces of Ukraine
, imports =
, exports =
, history =
, ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine
, country=Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...
RBC Ukraine
The RBC Group, or RosBiznesConsulting (russian: Группа компаний «РБК» РБК, РосБизнесКонсалтинг), is a Russian media group headquartered in Moscow. It was established in 1993.
The company holds an infor ...
Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
He was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 2013. Khomchak participated in some of the most consequential battles during the
war in Donbas
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. He was sectoral commander of Ukrainian forces during the
Battle of Ilovaisk
The Battle of Ilovaisk; uk, Іловайський котел, '). The word "kettle" refers to encirclement by enemy forces, which is termed "falling into the kettle". The word is also used to refer to battles during the Second World War, such ...
, in which Ukrainian units were surrounded and decisively defeated by separatists and their Russian backers. Reflecting on the battle several years later, Khomchak's predecessor as Commander-in-Chief,
Viktor Muzhenko
Viktor Muzhenko (born 10 October 1961) LIGA is a Ukrainian
, suggested that the incompetence of Ukrainian commanders, and the large number of Russian troops fighting for the separatists, were largely to blame for the disastrous outcome.
On 21 May 2019,
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
appointed Ruslan Khomchak
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Afg ...
and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 28 March 2020 a decree by President Zelensky divided the posts of Commander in Chief and Chief of General Staff. On this day Zelensky dismissed Khomchak from the post of Chief of General Staff and appointed him Chief Commander of Armed Forces while simultaneously he appointed Serhiy Korniychuk Chief of the General Staff.
On 10 September 2020, Khomchak tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Family
Khomchak is married to
Anna Kovalenko
Anna Mykolayivna Kovalenko ( uk, Анна Миколаївна Коваленко; born 5 May 1991) is a Ukrainian political figure, activist, and journalist. Kovalenko was the Governor of Chernihiv Oblast from 13 October 2020 until 4 August 2 ...
. Kovalenko is a civic activist, journalist, active
Euromaidan
Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
Ukrinform
The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...