Andriy Kovalchuk
Colonel General Andriy Kovalchuk commanded Ukraine's Southern Operational Command (headquartered in Odesa), which bore responsibility for the Kherson Oblast front and the Black Sea coast. He is credited as the principal architect of the Kherson liberation campaign in autumn 2022 — a methodical operation that combined crossing operations over the Dnipro's tributaries, deception, and progressive isolation of Russian forces on the right bank. Kovalchuk used flooding of the Inhulets River area to disrupt Russian supply lines and pinned Russian forces through feint operations while preparing the decisive thrust. Russia evacuated Kherson city on November 11, 2022.
Key Operations
- —Defense of Southern Ukraine — Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson — 2022
- —Kherson liberation operation (August–November 2022)
- —Inhulets River crossing feints and deception operations
- —Southern Operational Command coordination with partisan groups in occupied Kherson Oblast
Notable
The Kherson liberation was one of Ukraine's most sophisticated combined-arms operations — the only major city liberated from Russian occupation. Kovalchuk's operational planning influenced how Ukraine approached the 2023 counteroffensive. The liberation of Kherson city was celebrated as one of the most significant Ukrainian victories of the entire war.