Ruslan Borysovych Khomchak ( uk, Русла́н Бори́сович Хомча́к) is a Ukrainian

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 r ...

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 (Af ...

.Zelensky appoints Khomchak Chief Commander of Armed Forces, Korniychuk Chief of General Staff
Interfax-Ukraine (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

. 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

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 Ukrain ...

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., December ...

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 between 1988 and 1992. Following Ukrainian independence in 1991 Khomchak became a military commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From 1993 to 2000 Khomchak served in the 24th Mechanized Brigade.Politics Dossier of Ruslan Khomchak
by RBC UkraineBiography of Ruslan Khomchak
at the website of the

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 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, 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, 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 ...

appointed Ruslan Khomchak

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 identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

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 participant, former adviser to the three Ministers of Defense of Ukraine and a Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine. She was Head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration from 13 October 2020 until 4 August 2021.Zelensky appoints head of Chernihiv Regional State Administration

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 ...

(4 August 2021) In January 2021 Kovalenko gave birth to the couple's daughter Maria.Follows her husband: the government approved the dismissal of Khomchak's wife from the post of head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration
TSN (28 July 2021)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khomchak, Ruslan 1967 births Living people Military personnel from Lviv National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine alumni Lieutenant generals of Ukraine Chiefs of the General Staff (Ukraine) Ukrainian military personnel of the war in Donbas Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Ukrainian military personnel of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine