Serhii Petrovych Kulchytskyi (; 17 December 1963 – 29 May 2014) was head of the military and special training directorate at the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

. Gen Kulchytskyi was killed during the

Siege of Sloviansk The siege of Sloviansk was conducted by Ukraine between 12 April 2014 and 5 July 2014. It began when Sloviansk was seized by the fifty-strong unit of heavily-armed Russian militants lead by Russian citizen Igor Girkin. Following three months of ...

, when his helicopter was downed by armed pro-Russian separatists. 1st National Guard Battalion received his honorary name.

Military career

Serhii Kulchytskyi had a military upbringing. His father served with Soviet forces stationed in East Germany. Kulchytskyi graduated from the Ussuriysk military college in the Soviet Far East in 1981. He went on to train at the Far Eastern Higher Military Command School in the city of

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благовещенск, p=bləɡɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur River, Amur and the ...

, attaining a distinction in 1985. His military career began with the role of marine platoon commander at the Soviet

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

, based in

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

. Kulchytskyi served in the Soviet Northern Fleet until the dissolution of the Union. Once Ukraine became an independent state, Kulchytskyi moved to western Ukraine and became deputy commander of a National Guard battalion in

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

in 1992. Moving up the ranks, he became the battalion's commander in 1994. In 2010 he was appointed deputy commander of the Western Command of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's troops by President

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

.BBC.org Obituary of Maj. Gen. Serhiy Kulchytsky
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Death

Kulchytskyi was travelling with soldiers to the Mount Karachun base near

Sloviansk Sloviansk is a city in Donetsk Oblast, northern part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The city was known as ''Tor'' until 1784. While it did not actually belong to the raion itself, Sloviansk served as the administrative center of the S ...

when their MI-8 helicopter was shot down by pro-Russian separatists armed with anti-aircraft weapons. The Major-General, six other National Guardsmen, and six special forces of the Interior Ministry were all killed. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to be killed in action.

Funeral

Kulchytskyi's funeral procession took place on 31 May, in the western city of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

at the

Lychakiv Cemetery Lychakiv Cemetery (; ), officially State History and Culture Museum-Reserve "Lychakiv Cemetery" (), is a historic cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. History Since its creation in 1787 as Łyczakowski Cemetery, it has been the main necropolis of the c ...

Legacy

Ukrainian president

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

congratulated the 27th Brigade of the National Guard with the title of the " Serhii Kulchytskyi Battalion", after Kulchytskyi.true-news.info
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Awards

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

with the awarding of the «Golden Star» order (20 June 2014, posthumously). * Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi 3rd class (20 August 2008). * Order for Courage 3rd class (28 May, 1999).

Personal life

Kulchytskyi was married with a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulchytskyi, Serhii 1963 births 2014 deaths People from Weimar Ukrainian military personnel of the war in Donbas Ukrainian military personnel killed in the war in Donbas Major generals of Ukraine Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Ukraine Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School alumni Honorary Citizens of Ternopil Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2014 Victims of aircraft shootdowns