Serhii Ivanovych Naiev (; born 30 April 1970) is a Ukrainian lieutenant general who served as

Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The Joint Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine () is a body of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was created in 2020 with the goal of planning and coordinating combined milit ...

from 2016 until 2024.

Biography

Naiev was born on 30 April 1970, in

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion within the oblast. It is located in the historic region of Podolia, on the border with Bessarabia, Moldova, along th ...

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

, and pursued his education from 1987 to 1991 at 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. Alumni of the school have served with the Soviet Army and the Russi ...

, attaining the rank of lieutenant upon completion. Between 1991 and 1993, he served as the commander of a motorized infantry platoon within a unit of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

.http://womenua.today/en/sergij-nayev SERHIY NAYEV

Ukrainian Women's Congress Ukrainian Women's Congress () is a permanent public platform dedicated to shaping the gender policy agenda for the Ukrainian Parliament, government, local communities, private and public sectors, and the media. Established in 2017 by the Equal Opp ...

In 2014, Naiev played a pivotal role as the head of Sector B during the intense battles for Donetsk airport. Following his service, he assumed the role of the commander of

Operational Command East The Operational Command East ( OC East, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in eastern Ukraine. Its headquarters is currently located in Dnipro. History When Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there were three ...

from 2015 to 2017, having previously served as the chief executive officer at

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 ...

. In March 2018,

Viktor Muzhenko Viktor Mykolayovych Muzhenko (; born 10 October 1961)
LIGA is a Ukrainian

, the head of the

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine () is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed forces under the Ministry of De ...

, appointed Naiev as his deputy. From 16 March 2018 to 6 May 2019, Naiev held the position of commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Subsequently, on 27 March 2020, he was reinstated in this role. He was again removed from this position on 11 February 2024. Under his direct supervision, five strategic operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war against Russia were carried out: 1) The rapid deployment of troops before the invasion; 2) Ensuring the army's readiness during the invasion; 3) Maintaining control over the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

; 4) Preserving the most combat-ready units; 5) Preparing for the liberation of the Kharkiv Oblast. Additionally, at Nayev's initiative, mobile air defense units were established. In February 2025, Naiev was interviewed by

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

, and spoke frankly about the failure of the Ukrainian government to adequately prepare for the war, and stated that

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

bore responsibility for these mistakes. Immediately following its publication, Naiev was appointed as commander of the Velyka Novosilka tactical group. Ukrainian military journalist Yuri Butusov claimed that Zelenskyy personally ordered Naiev to the front, and that his appointment went against army regulations since Naiev was not an actively serving commander at the time.

Awards

* On 28 April 2022, he was made a

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 ...

by President

. *

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 ...

(3 May 2019)

References

1970 births Living people People from Mohyliv-Podilskyi Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Lieutenant generals of Ukraine Ukrainian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine {{Ukraine-mil-bio-stub