Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko

Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko (; December 8, 1878 – May 29, 1952) was the Commander of the Ukrainian Galician Army (UHA) and the Ukrainian People's Army. Later, he served as defense minister for the exiled Ukrainian People's Republic.

Early life Mykhaylo Omelianovych-Pavlenko was born in Tbilisi (present-day Georgia). His father, Volodymyr, was an officer in the Imperial Russian Army. His mother was of a Georgian aristocratic family. He had a younger brother Ivan who later was fighting along with him.

Early military service Pavlenko participated in the Russo-Japanese War as a company commander. Later, in 1910, he graduated from the General Staff School.

World War I During World War I, Pavlenko served as the commander of many army units, including a Ukrainian brigade in Yekaterinoslav.

In the spring of 1917, Omelianovych-Pavlenko became an active supporter of the Ukrainian independence movement, and initiated the creation of the Odessa battalion.

Publications Pavlenko authored four books: The Ukrainian-Polish War of 1918–19, (published in 1929), The Winter Campaign, (published in 1934), and two books of memoirs (published in 1930 and 1935).