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Viktor Muzhenko

Viktor Muzhenko
Native name
Віктор Миколайович Муженко
Birth nameViktor Mykolayovych Muzhenko
Born (1961-10-10) 10 October 1961 (age 63)
Vystupovichi, Ovruch Raion,
Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union[1]
AllegianceSoviet Union Soviet Union (1983–1991)
Ukraine Ukraine (1992–2019)
Service / branch Soviet Army
 Ukrainian Ground Forces
RankGeneral of the army of Ukraine
CommandsChief of the General Staff (2014-2019)
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2012-2014)
8th Army Corps (Ukraine) (2010–2012)

Viktor Mykolayovych Muzhenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Миколайович Муженко; born 10 October 1961)[1] is a Ukrainian general who was the Chief of the General Staff and the commanding officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019.

Biography

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In 1983 Muzhenko graduated from the Leningrad Higher Military Command School.[1] He then served in the Soviet Union's Transcaucasian Military District in the mechanized and motorized infantry, ending up being a commander of a motorized infantry battalion in Armenia.[1] In 1992 he moved to the Carpathian Military District where he till 2000 served as its commander.[1] In 1996 Muzhenko graduated from the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[1] From 2000 till 2003 he was chief of staff - deputy division commander of the Territorial Directorate "North".[1] From April 2003 to July 2004 he served as chief of staff - first deputy commander of a mechanized brigade of Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent of the multinational force in Iraq.[1] In 2005 Muzhenko graduated from the Faculty training of operational and strategic levels of the National Defence Academy of Ukraine.[1] In 2005 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army Corps of Ukrainian Ground Forces, a post he held till 2010.[1] In 2010–2012, he served as commander of the 8th Army Corps.[1] On 10 May 2012 Muzhenko was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[1] On 24 August 2012 Muzhenko was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.[1] Muzhenko was elected deputy of the Zhytomyr Oblast Council for the Party of Regions, but left the party in February 2014.[1] 20 May 2014 decree of the Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov appointed him first deputy head of the counterterrorist center at the Security Service of Ukraine.[1]

Muzhenko was appointed Chief of the General Staff by president Petro Poroshenko on 3 July 2014.[2] (According to Poroshenko) at the time his predecessor Mykhailo Kutsyn was suffering from shell-shock and a concussion and was staying at a hospital (he had been wounded while combating the 2014 insurgency in Donbas).[3] Muzhenko had also entered into combat in the Donbas region during the same operation.[1]

Awards and decorations

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q (in Russian) Short bio, LIGA
  2. ^ 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)
  3. ^ Poroshenko: Former Ukrainian General Staff chief shell-shocked in southeastern combat zone, Interfax-Ukraine (3 July 2014)
  4. ^ Decree of the President of Ukraine from 4 липня 2016 year № 293/2016 «Про відзначення державними нагородами України» (in Ukrainian)
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Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
2014–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of the 8th Army Corps
2010–2012 		Succeeded by