Operational Command North

Operational Command North
Оперативне командування «Північ»
Operation Command North sleeve patch
Active	1996–present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ground Forces
Type	Military district
Role	administrative control [1]
Part of	Armed Forces of Ukraine
Garrison/HQ	Chernihiv [2]
Anniversaries	15 August
Commanders
Current commander	Dmytro Krasylnykov

Operational Command North is a command of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in northern Ukraine. It was formed in 2013 from the Western Operational Command and Territorial Directorate North by reforming the 13th Army Corps.

The operation command traces its history back to Territorial Directorate "North", which was created on the basis of Northern Territorial Operational Command by Directive No.322/1/010 of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine on 20 May 2005. ^[3]

The previous Northern Operational Command was created in 1996 ^[4] and based on the 1st Army Corps that continued the traditions of the 1st Guard Red-Banner Army. It encompassed six oblasts: Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy. The command consisted of units and military formations of the 8th Army Corps.

On 15 August 2005, temporary Chief of the Directorate Colonel Yuriy Horoliuk signed the first Order within the Directive. This day is considered the creation date for the Directorate. The Territorial Directorate "North" was the first to switch to a new system of control. ^[3]

History

Map of the Operational Command North shown in dark green

When Ukraine gained independence, the 1st Guards Army was stationed on Ukrainian territory with its headquarters at Chernihiv. During the early 1990s, the army was reformed into the 1st Army Corps. In 1996, the Northern Operational and Territorial Command was formed from the corps. At the beginning of 1998, the command was split into the Northern Operational Command, managing operations in the area. The Northern Territorial Command controlled other functions. In August 2005, Territorial Directorate "North" was established from the Northern Operational Command.

The Directorate was responsible for territory spanning over 196,000 km² (75,676 sq mi), in which 15,000,000 people lived in 2008. The oblasts (provinces) of Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy were all are under the Directorate control. The Directorate was in charge of the 7 oblasts and Kyiv City Military Commissariat, 135 regional military commissariats, 530 military units and bases. ^[3] As of 2008, the mission of the directorate was to organize territorial defence, recruit conscripts and contract soldiers and manage infrastructure. ^[3]

In November 2013, the directorate was reformed into Operational Command North. The command absorbed units of the disbanded 13th Army Corps.

Organization

Structure of the Operational Command North in 2017 as per the best available Ukrainian language sources.

Operational Command North has operational command of ground force units in Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy oblasts, as well as in the city of Kyiv.

• Operational Command North, in Chernihiv
  • 1st Tank Brigade , in Honcharivske
  • 4th Tank Brigade , in Honcharivske
  • 30th Mechanized Brigade , in Zviahel
  • 31st Mechanized Brigade , in
  • 32nd Mechanized Brigade , in
  • 44th Mechanized Brigade , in Nizhyn
  • 47th Mechanized Brigade , in
  • 58th Motorized Brigade , in Konotop
  • 61st Mechanized Brigade , in Zhytomyr
  • 62nd Mechanized Brigade , in Berdychiv
  • 72nd Mechanized Brigade , in Bila Tserkva
  • 110th Mechanized Brigade , in Cherkasy
  • 115th Mechanized Brigade , in Blahodatne
  • 116th Mechanized Brigade , in Poltava
  • 117th Mechanized Brigade , in Sumy
  • 26th Artillery Brigade , in Berdychiv
  • 48th Artillery Brigade, in Poltava
  • 49th Artillery Brigade, in Chernihiv
  • 1129th Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment, in Bila Tserkva
  • 5th Signal Regiment, in Chernihiv
  • 12th Engineer Regiment, in Zviahel
  • 50th Maintenance Regiment, in Huiva
  • 12th Tank Battalion, in Honcharivske ^[5]
  • 20th Electronic Warfare Battalion, in Zhytomyr
  • 6th Combined Detachment, in Kyiv
  • 45th Rifle Battalion, in Kyiv
  • 54th Reconnaissance Battalion, in Zviahel
  • 134th Guard & Service Battalion, in Chernihiv
  • 181st Materiel Support Battalion, in Zviahel
  • 226th Transport Battalion, in Berdychiv
  • 90th Command & Intelligence Center, in Chernihiv
  • 367th Information & Signal Center, in Chernihiv
  • Regional Radioelectronic Intelligence (REI) Center, in Chernihiv
    • 121st Maneuverable REI Center, Chernihiv
    • 122nd REI Center, Chuguev

Additional forces

The following formations of other branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, respectively the general staff of the Ukrainian ground forces, are based in the area of Operational Command North and can be assigned to the command as needed:

• 101st General Staff Guard Brigade, in Kyiv

• Ground Forces :
  • Separate Presidential Brigade, in Kyiv
  • 1st Special Purpose Brigade, in Kyiv
  • 3rd Assault Brigade, in Kyiv
  • 5th Assault Brigade, in Konotop
  • 18th Army Aviation Brigade, in Poltava
  • 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade, in Sumy
  • 43rd Artillery Brigade, in Pyriatyn
  • 107th Rocket Artillery Brigade, in Kremenchuk
  • 1121st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Training), in Desna

• Air Assault Forces :
  • 46th Airmobile Brigade, in Poltava
  • 71st Jaeger Brigade, in Kremenchuk
  • 77th Airmobile Brigade, in Zhytomyr
  • 95th Air Assault Brigade, in Zhytomyr
  • 148th Artillery Brigade, in Zhytomyr
  • 132nd Intelligence Battalion, in Zhytomyr
  • 135th Command and Support Battalion, in Zhytomyr
  • 170th Logistic Battalion, in Zhytomyr

• Air Force :
  • 96th Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade, in Danylivka
  • 138th Radio Technical Brigade, in Vasylkiv
  • 156th Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment, in Zolotonosha
  • 210th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, in Uman
  • 31st Communication Regiment, in Kyiv
  • 2204th Electronic Warfare Battalion, in Vasylkiv

• Special Operations Forces :
  • 99th Command and Support Battalion, in Brovary
  • 16th Information and Psychological Operations Center, in Huiva
  • 72nd Information and Psychological Operations Center, in Brovary
  • 142nd Training and Education Center, in Berdychiv

• Territorial Defense Forces
  • 112th Territorial Defence Brigade "Kyiv City"
  • 114th Territorial Defence Brigade "Kyiv Oblast"
  • 115th Territorial Defence Brigade "Zhytomyr"
  • 116th Territorial Defence Brigade "Poltava"
  • 117th Territorial Defence Brigade "Sumy"
  • 118th Territorial Defence Brigade "Cherkasy"
  • 119th Territorial Defence Brigade "Chernihiv"
  • 241st Territorial Defence Brigade "Kyiv"
  • 4th Infantry Battalion "Zhytomyr"
  • 8th Infantry Battalion "Kyiv Oblast"
  • 13th Infantry Battalion "Poltava"
  • 15th Infantry Battalion "Sumy"
  • 20th Infantry Battalion "Cherkasy"
  • 22nd Infantry Battalion "Chernihiv"
  • Infantry Battalion "Kyiv City"

Commanders

This table includes commanders of Northern Operational Command (1992–2005), Territorial Directorate "North" (2005–2013) and Operational Command North (2014–).

Commanders

• Lieutenant General Valentyn Boryskin (1992 - 1996)
• Colonel General Viktor Kolotov (1996 - 1998)
• Colonel General Oleh Shustenko (2000 - 2005)
• Colonel Yuriy Horolyuk (15 August 2005 - 2005) ^[3]
• Major General Serhiy Bessarab (2005 - 2007) ^[3]
• Major General Anatoliy Syrotenko (2007 - 2012) ^[3]
• Lieutenant General Ihor Kolesnyk (November 2013 - 2015)
• Major General Oleksandr Lakota (2015 - February 2017) ^[6]
• Lieutenant General Vyacheslav Nazarkin (February 2017 - 2017)
• Lieutenant General Volodymyr Kravchenko (2017 - 5 August 2019)
• Major General Vasyl Osypchuk (5 August 2019 - December 2019, acting) ^[7]
• Lieutenant General Viktor Nikoliuk (December 2019 - March 2023) ^{[8] [9]}
• Brigadier General Dmytro Krasylnykov (March 2023 - present) ^[10]

Chiefs of staff - first deputy commanders

• Major General Volodymyr Kravchenko (2015 - 2017)
• Major General Petro Romyhailo (2017 - present)

Deputy commanders

• Major General Andriy Hryshchenko (2015 - 2016)
• Colonel Ihor Krasota (2016 - July 2018)
• Major General Vasyl Osypchuk (July 2018 - August 2019) ^{[11] [12]}
• Major General Oleksiy Otserklevych (2020 - present)

See also

• Kyiv Military District

References

1. "3rd anniversary of creation of the Directorate" (in Ukrainian).
2. "Contract personnel of the Directorate" (in Ukrainian).
3. У Чернігові відбулися урочисті збори та святковий концерт з нагоди 3-ї річниці з дня створення Територіального управління “Північ” Сухопутних військ Збройних Сил України [Meeting and concert held in Chernihiv for the 3rd anniversary of Territorial Directorate "North"]. mil.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
4. Brief history of the Ukrainian military.
5. "Збройні Сили України формують нову танкову частину".
6. Holcomb, Franklin. The Order of Battle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Institute for the Study of War, Washington DC.
7. "Урочистості з нагоди Дня Захисника України в оперативному командуванні "Північ": нагородили кращих, вшанували полеглих » Новинний портал "Північ" Огляд військових новин, військово-політичних подій в Україні та світі, новини озброєння та технологій, оснащення та екіпірування". 2019-10-26. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
8. "Командувачем військ оперативного командування «Північ» призначений генерал-майор Віктор Ніколюк". armyinform.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-12.
9. "Віктор Ніколюк призначений командувачем військ ОК «Північ»". 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
10. "В ОК «Північ» змінився очільник. А генерал Ніколюк тепер командує підготовкою Сухопутних військ". hromadske.ua (in Ukrainian). 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
11. "На Чернігівщині відбулися тактичні навчання з бойовою стрільбою (ФОТО)". UATV. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
12. "Солдат і немовля: Порошенко виклав зворушливе фото із зустрічі 30-ї бригади в Новограді". Новинарня (in Ukrainian). 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2019-12-13.