Major-General Andrii Trokhymovych Kovalchuk (; born 28 April 1974) is a Ukrainian military officer. He graduated from a military academy in 1997 and joined the

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. He served in Ukraine and on deployment as a peacekeeper to the United Nations missions in Kosovo, Liberia and the Côte d'Ivoire. During the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

from 2014 to 2022, Kovalchuk took part in successful operations to liberate settlements in

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

before assaulting the

Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport (; ) was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 June 2014, the airport has been officially closed. It was mostly ...

. Despite being wounded he captured the airport and held it for almost two months. Kovalchuk afterwards served with airborne troops and recommended the replacement of their Soviet-style uniform. On 24 August 2016, the same day uniform reforms were implemented, he was awarded the title of

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 ...

. In 2018 Kovalchuk studied for a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree at the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine. He was recognised as the best graduating officer and received the Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain sword in recognition. Since the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in 2022, Kovalchuk has been commanding forces in the south of the country. He commanded the 2022 Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south before being dismissed for lack of progress. In 2024 he became the head of the

Odesa Military Academy The Odesa Military Academy is a modern higher military institution of the inter-services Armed Forces of Ukraine. The academy conducts language training for servicemen and employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, advanced training of military per ...

Early life and career

Kovalchuk was born in the village of Shchytyn in

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

in northwestern Ukraine, on 28 April 1974. He attended a mechanical engineering school at

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

. Kovalchuk recalled having problems with discipline at the school, but escaped expulsion as he performed well academically. At school Kovalchuk has aspired to become an officer in the Ukrainian Army. He attended the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Institute of Ground Forces in 1993 to train as an engineering officer. Kovalchuk decided against a career in engineering and in 1994 transferred to the Guards Higher Tank Command School at

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, from which he graduated with honours in 1997. Kovalchuk served in the 51st Mechanised Division as a platoon commander before rising to become chief of staff of a battalion and then a regiment. He was afterwards appointed to command a brigade. In 2004 he attended the Ukrainian Academy of Defence, majoring in "combat application and management of the actions of units of the Ground Forces". Kovalchuk served on a

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Привремена административна мисија Уједињених нација на Косову, Privremena administrativna misija Ujedinjenih na ...

peacekeeping operation from 2005 to 2006, as deputy commander of the Ukrainian contingent. He served a second deployment in 2011 as chief of staff to a helicopter unit that served with the

United Nations Mission in Liberia The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the ...

and the

United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) ( (ONUCI)) was a UN-NATO peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) whose objective was "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed b ...

War in Donbas

At the start of the

Anti-terrorist Operation Zone Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone (), or ATO zone (), was a term used by the media, public, the government of Ukraine, and the OSCE and other foreign institutions to identify Ukrainian territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (oblasts) under the c ...

operations against Russian-backed forces in Eastern Ukraine during the

war in Donbas (2014–2022) The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation ...

he was chief of staff of the

80th Air Assault Brigade The 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade is an Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, airmobile formation of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces. The brigade traces its history back to the 80th Airborne Regiment of the Soviet Union, formed in 1955 as p ...

. His brigade liberated the settlements of Lyman,

Mykolaivka Mykolaivka () is one of the most common toponyms (place names) in Ukraine. The name is a diminutive derivative of Mykolaiv. City * Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, a city in Donetsk Oblast Urban-type settlements * Mykolaivka, Simferopol Raion, an u ...

and

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 ...

in the

. Kovalchuk then led part of the brigade on a march to Shchastya in

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

to go the relief of other Ukrainian troops. The combined force then pushed rebel troops from

. During this operation, on 13 July, Kovalchuk was wounded by rifle fire in the back and shoulder. He refused hospitalisation to continue to serve, commanding the defence of the airport from counterattacks. His units held the perimeter until 31 August. In August he was appointed to command the brigade and promoted to brigadier general. In March 2016 Kovalchuk was appointed chief of staff and deputy commander of the Highly Mobile Landing Forces (airborne units). Andriy Kovalchuk 2016

Kovalchuk was one of the instigators of the reform of uniforms of the Ukrainian Army, which was implemented on 24 August 2016. Changes made included the replacement of the blue beret for airborne troops, associated with the Soviet and Russian armies, with a red one. Kovalchuk, whose own uniform changed, said "I personally do not want to be in the same uniform as those scoundrels who attack me and my soldiers". In 2018 Kovalchuk attended the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine. He attended part-time, with 50% of the material covered on a correspondence basis whilst he was deployed in combat. Kovalchuk was awarded a masters degree in public administration and received the sword of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, awarded by the military attaché of the British Embassy since 1996 to the best graduating officer. In early October 2021 he was appointed to lead the army's

Operational Command South The Operational Command South ( OC South, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in the southern part of Ukraine, which was formed in January 1998 as the Southern Operation Command on the basis of the Odesa Military District and was headq ...

with the rank of major-general.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. By August, Kovalchuk had control over Ukraine's six southern oblasts, including

Kryvyi Rih Raion Kryvyi Rih Raion () is a raion (district) of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast situated in central and southern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Kryvyi Rih. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the n ...

Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...

, and

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

. His forces amounted to around 100,000 troops (when including territorial defense battalions). By early August 2022, it was reported that Kovalchuk was preparing to command the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region which began at the end of the same month. He was later dismissed from this position and replaced by

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi Oleksandr Heorhiiovych Tarnavskyi (; born 12 May 1970) is a Ukrainian military officer and brigadier general who rose to prominence during the Russian invasion of Ukraine due to his leading role during the counteroffensive in southern Ukraine ...

, as the offensive was not progressing fast enough for the command in Kyiv. On 11 April 2024, Kovalchuk was appointed head of the

Awards

On 19 July 2014 Kovalchuk was awarded the third class

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky () is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was established on May 3, 1995 by Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma to commemorate the 50th anniversar ...

. On 10 October 2015 he received the second class of the

for personal bravery. On 23 August 2016 Kovalchuk was awarded the title of

by 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 ...

. On 2 May 2022 he was awarded the

Order of Danylo Halytsky The Order of Daniel of Galicia, Danylo Halytsky () is an award of Ukraine. The Order was instituted on February 20, 2003, by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to honour the military men of the Military of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine and other mi ...

.Decree of the President of Ukraine from 2 травня 2022 year № 293/202
«Про відзначення державними нагородами України»
On 27 July 2022 he received the

Cross of Military Merit (Ukraine) The Cross of Military Merit (Ukrainian: Хрест бойових заслуг, ''Khrest boiovykh zasluh'' – literally: 'Cross of merits in combat') is a state award of Ukraine, a distinction of the President of Ukraine established to recognize ...

.Decree of the President of Ukraine from 27 липня 2022 year № 533/202
«Про нагородження відзнакою Президента України “Хрест бойових заслуг”»

Personal life

Kovalchuk's wife Olena is an airborne officer; they met when she chastised him, her senior, for wearing an unpolished belt buckle. The couple have two sons.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalchuk, Andrii 1974 births Ukrainian generals Ukrainian military personnel of the war in Donbas Ukrainian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine People from Volyn Oblast Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine alumni Living people Recipients of the Cross of Military Merit (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class