Ihor Voronchenko

Voronchenko was born 22 August 1964 in the village of Babai in Kharkiv Raion.^[3][4]

After graduation from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School Voronchenko was assigned to East-Germany where he was commander of a tank platoon until 1988.^[4] Voronchenko then became a commander of a tank company in the Belarusian Military District.^[4] After the collapse of the Soviet Union he returned to Ukraine and continued service in the National Guard of Ukraine in Kharkiv.^[4] Then he graduated from the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Starting in 1998, he served in Crimea on the post of commander of a National Guard regiment.^[4] And then became Crimea's chief of the Coastal Defense Administration of the Ukrainian Navy.^[4]

During the February/March 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea Voronchenko was captured and detained for 4 days in Crimea before being released on 27 March 2014.^[5][3]

Voronchenko was appointed acting commander of the Ukrainian Navy on 25 April 2016.^[6] And on 3 July 2016 President Petro Poroshenko appointed him as commander of the Ukrainian Navy.^[6] The same day Voronchenko was conferred the rank of Vice Admiral (on 25 April 2016 he held the rank of Lieutenant General).^[6] On 23 August 2018 he was promoted to the rank of Admiral.^[7] On 11 June 2020 President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Oleksiy Neizhpapa as commander of the Ukrainian Navy.^[1]