Andrii Kovalchuk

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. 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 from 2014 to 2022, Kovalchuk took part in successful operations to liberate settlements in Donetsk Oblast before assaulting the Luhansk International Airport. 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.

In 2018 Kovalchuk studied for a Master of Public Administration 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 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.

Early life and career Kovalchuk was born in the village of Shchytyn in Volyn Oblast in northwestern Ukraine, on 28 April 1974. He attended a mechanical engineering school at Kovel.

At school Kovalchuk has aspired to become an officer in the Ukrainian Army. He attended the Kyiv 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, from which he graduated with honours in 1997.

On 11 April 2024, Kovalchuk was appointed head of the Odesa Military Academy.

Awards On 19 July 2014 Kovalchuk was awarded the third class Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

On 10 October 2015 he received the second class of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky for personal bravery.

On 27 July 2022 he received the Cross of Military Merit (Ukraine).

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.