| Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Командувач Повітряних сил Збройних Сил України | |
 | |
 Ukrainian Air Force | |
| Reports to | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces |
| Appointer | the President |
| Formation | 1992 |
| First holder | Valeriy Vasylyev |
The Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force (Ukrainian: Командувач Повітряних сил Збройних Сил України, romanized: Komanduvach Povitryanykh syl Zbroynykh Syl Ukrayiny) is the head of the professional and administrative head of the Ukrainian Air Force, and is under the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The current Commander of the Air Force is Colonel General Mykola Oleschuk.[1]
List of commanders[edit]
Pre-merger with the Air Defence Forces (1991-2004)
- 1992 – 1993 Lieutenant General Valeriy Vasylyev
- 1993 – 1999 Colonel General Volodymyr Mykhaylovych Antonets
- 1999 – 2002 Colonel General Viktor Ivanovych Strelnykov (detained in 2002 due to the Sknyliv air show disaster)
- 2002 – 2004 Lieutenant General Yaroslav Illich Skalko
Post-merger with the Air Defence Forces (2004–present)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | 
|
Colonel general Anatoliy Yakovych Toropchyn (born 1951) |
May 2005 | 7 November 2007 | 2 years, 6 months | |
| 2 | 
|
Colonel general Ivan Stepanovych Rusnak (born 1952) |
7 November 2007 | 12 August 2010 | 2 years, 278 days | |
| 3 |
|
Colonel general Serhiy Ivanovych Onyshchenko (born 1954) |
12 August 2010 | 8 June 2012 | 1 year, 301 days | [2][3] |
| 4 |
|
Colonel general Yuriy Avramovych Baydak (born 1955) |
8 June 2012 | 20 July 2015 | 3 years, 42 days | |
| 5 | 
|
Colonel general Serhii Drozdov (born 1962) |
20 July 2015 | 9 August 2021 | 6 years, 20 days | [4][5] |
| 6 | 
|
Lieutenant general Mykola Oleschuk (born 1972) |
9 August 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 264 days | [6] |
See also[edit]
- Commander of the Ground Forces (Ukraine)
- Commander of the Navy (Ukraine)
- Commander of the Air Defence Forces (Ukraine)
- Commander of the Air Assault Forces (Ukraine)
References[edit]
- ^ Serhiy Drozdov appointed commander of Ukrainian Air Force Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine (20 July 2015)
- ^ Биография
- ^ Из досье «Фактов»
- ^ "Decree of the President of Ukraine of July 20, 2015 № 443/2015 "On the appointment of S. Drozdov Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine"". zakon.rada.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ "Decree of the President of Ukraine of August 9, 2021 No. 344/2021 "On dismissal of S. Drozdov from the post of Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine"". president.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ "New commanders of Air Assault Forces and Air Force presented". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-09-13.