Chief of the General Staff (Ukraine)


The Chief of the General Staff is the chief of staff of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He/she is appointed by the President of Ukraine. If the Minister of Defense is a civilian the Chief of the General Staff becomes the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The current Chief of the General Staff is Serhiy Korniychuk.
Previously the Chief of the General Staff also served concurrently as the Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a position just second to the Supreme Commander in Chief. On 28 March 2020 a decree by President Volodymyr Zelensky divided the posts of Commander in Chief and Chief of General Staff.

Chiefs of General Staff

Ukrainian Armed Forces

The office created upon the reorganization of the Soviet Kiev Military District when its head, Colonel General Viktor Chechevatov, after receiving the offer to be appointed to the post, refused to pledge his allegiance to the people of Ukraine. 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.

Historical offices

Ukrainian People's Republic

;Ukrainian General Staff
;Headquarters of the UPR
;General Staff of UPR

West Ukrainian National Republic