Mykhailo Kutsyn
Native name
Михайло Миколайович Куцин
Born (1957-08-15) 15 August 1957 (age 66)
Svoboda, Berehove Raion,
Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
AllegianceSoviet Union Soviet Union (1978–1991)
Ukraine Ukraine (1992–2014)
Service/branch Soviet Army
 Ukrainian Ground Forces
RankLieutenant general
Commands heldWestern Operational Command
(2004–2010)
Armed Forces of Ukraine
(2014)

Mykhailo Mykolayovych Kutsyn (Ukrainian: Михайло Миколайович Куцин; born 15 August 1957) is a former Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[1][2][3][4] He was appointed Chief of the General Staff by acting president Oleksandr Turchynov on 28 February 2014.[1][5] Kutsyn was relieved of this post by president Petro Poroshenko on 3 July 2014.[4] Poroshenko thanked Kutsyn for his service and stated he had been shell-shocked on 2 July 2014 while combating the 2014 insurgency in Donbass. He had suffered a concussion and was recovering at a hospital.[6]

A graduate of Tank school, Kutsyn served with the Soviet Army in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Czechoslovakia and Germany. He enlisted in the Ukrainian Ground Forces after the nation gained independence in 1991, and was head of the Western Operational Command for six years, before being appointed Deputy Minister of Defence in March 2010.

Biography

He graduated from the Blagovishchensk Higher Tank Command School (1978), the Military Academy of Armored Troops (Moscow, 1990), the Faculty of Training Specialists of the Operational-Strategic Level of the National Defense Academy of Ukraine (2001).

He began his officer service as a tank platoon commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

From 1980 to 1987, he was a platoon commander, commander of a company of cadets of the Kharkiv Higher Tank Command School.

From 1990 to 1992, he held the positions of deputy commander, tank battalion commander, and deputy chief of staff of the tank regiment of the Belarusian Military District.

Since December 1992, he has served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

From 1992 to 1996, he served as Chief of Staff and regiment commander of the Carpathian Military District of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

From 1996 to 1999, he was Chief of Staff, commander of the 24th Mechanized Division of the Western Operational Command.

On 20 August 1999, he was promoted to Major General.[7]

In 2001, he graduated from the faculty of training operational-strategic level specialists of the National Defense Academy of Ukraine.

From 2001 to 2004, he served as Chief of Staff, Commander of the 13th Army Corps of the Western Operational Command.

From 2004, he was the first deputy commander, then from 19 July 2004[8] to 2010, he was the commander of the troops of the Western Operational Command.

From 31 March 2010[9] to 8 April 2011,[10] he served as Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

From 28 February 2014[11] to 3 July 2014,[12] he served as Chief of the General Staff.

He was a member of the NSDC from 19 March[13] to 16 June,[14] and from 23 June[15] to 5 July[16] 2014.

On 2 July 2014, during hostilities in the area of the Joint Forces Operation, he was contused, after which he was taken to the hospital.[17]

Awards and decorations

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky 2nd class (2008)[18]
Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky 3rd class (2005)[19]
Medal For Military Service to Ukraine (1997)[20]
Medal for Battle Merit (Soviet award)

References

  1. ^ a b "Mykhailo Kutsyn appointed commander-in-chief of Ukrainian army". KyivPost. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Ukraine Finds Its Forces Are Ill Equipped to Take Crimea Back From Russia". New York Times. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. ^ Михайло Куцин призначений начальником Генштабу. newsradio.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 1 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b Ukraine's new defence minister promises Crimea victory, BBC News (3 July 2014)
    President appoints Muzhenko as commander-in-chief of Armed Forces, Ukrinform (3 July 2014)
  5. ^ Главнокомандующим Вооруженных сил Украины стал генерал-"танкист" Куцин. ru.tsn.ua (in Ukrainian). 28 February 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  6. ^ Poroshenko: Former Ukrainian General Staff chief shell-shocked in southeastern combat zone, Interfax-Ukraine (3 July 2014)
  7. ^ "Про присвоєння військових звань". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Про призначення М. Куцина командувачем військ Західного оперативного командування". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Про призначення Куцина М.М. заступником Міністра оборони України". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Про звільнення М. Куцина з посади заступника Міністра оборони України". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №172/2014 — Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України". 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  12. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №565/2014 — Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України". 18 July 2023. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Про зміни у складі Ради національної безпеки і оборони України". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Про склад Ради національної безпеки і оборони України". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  15. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №549/2014 — Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України". 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  16. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №571/2014 — Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України". 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Экс-начальник Генерального штаба ранен в зоне АТО. Мета Новости. Общество. Валерий Гелетей, Петр Порошенко, Вооруженные силы Украины, генерал-лейтенант, госпиталь". 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  18. ^ УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАИНЫ № 745/2008. Official Website of the Acting President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  19. ^ УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ № 1185/2005. Official Website of the Acting President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  20. ^ Президент України; Указ від 30.09.1997 № 1081/97. Official Website of the Ukrainian Parliament (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 7 March 2014.

External links

Military offices Preceded byFedor Alexandrovich Prohorov Commander of the 24th Motor Rifle Division 1996–1999 Succeeded byVolodymyr Kysilyov Preceded by Commander of the 13th Army Corps 2001–2004 Succeeded by Preceded byMykola Petruk Commander of the Western Operation Command 2004–2010 Succeeded byYuriy Dumansky Preceded byYuriy Ilyin Chief of the General Staff 2014 Succeeded byViktor Muzhenko
Chiefs of the General Staff of Ukraine
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
War in Donbas (2014–2022)
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