Andriy Hnatov was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. What is known about him?

Major General Andriy Hnatov has been appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The corresponding order was signed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, in agreement with the president.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense.

Hnatov will be responsible for force generation and cooperation with partners.

He has over 27 years of experience in the military, having served in key positions — from commander of a marine brigade to commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the troops of the Operational Command "East".

"I am confident that his knowledge and skills will contribute to strengthening the defense capabilities of our state," Umerov emphasized.

On the eve of the meeting, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Andriy Hnatov from the post of commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The reason for such personnel reshuffles is currently unknown.

What is known about Andriy Gnatov?

Andriy Hnatov graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Troops in 2001. From 2016 to 2018, he headed the headquarters of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, after which he commanded the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mikhail Belinsky.

In 2022, he headed the headquarters and became the deputy commander of the troops of the Operational Command "South" of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2022, he replaced General Dmytro Marchenko, leading the defense of Mykolaiv, and was one of the commanders responsible for the liberation of the Kherson region.

In the spring of 2023, he led the defense of Bakhmut, which was in the area of responsibility of the “Khortytsia” Operational-strategic group (OSG) under the command of Oleksandr Syrskyi. In addition, Andriy Hnatov was one of the officers who formed units of the renewed marines from units that left the occupied Crimea.

Hnatov was appointed to command the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in June 2024, replacing Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol. This happened after the former chief of staff of the “Azov” Brigade of the National Guard, Bohdan Krotevych, filed a complaint against Sodol with the State Bureau of Investigation.

He wrote that Sodol “killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any other Russian general”, and therefore asked for an investigation.

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