Operational Command South

The Operational Command South is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in the southern part of Ukraine, which was formed in January 1998 as the Southern Operation Command on the basis of the Odesa Military District and was headquartered in Odesa. From 2005-2013 it was known as the Southern Operation Association.
In January 2007 RIA Novosti reported that destruction of ammunition would take place at the 275th artillery ammunition base near the village of Novobohdanivka, Zaporizhzhia region.
Until 2015 Operational Command South covered 9 oblasts and autonomous republics: Odesa, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. In 2015 eastern parts of the operation command territory were passed on to newly formed Operation Command East based in Dnipro. The headquarters of the OC South was relocated from Odesa to Mykolaiv.

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Composition

By 1 July 2006, the Southern Operational Command included 6th Army Corps and other units comprising:

17th Armoured Brigade
28th Guards Mechanised Brigade reorganized as 28th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in 2015.
92nd Mechanised Brigade Kluhoshyno-Bashkyrivka, Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast
93rd Mechanised Brigade. Cherkaske Novomoskovsk Raion Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
55th Artillery Brigade
107th Rocket Launcher Regiment
25th Airborne Brigade Hvardiiske Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
79th Airmobile Brigade
11th Army Aviation Regiment
1039th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
3rd special purpose Regiment. Kropyvnytskyi
50 Academic squad of special training. Kropyvnytskyi

Exercises that command units have taken part in include "Autumn-98", "reaction", "Southern redoubt-99", "Redoubt-2000", including peacekeeping – series of "Peace Shield", "Cossack Steppe," "common neighborhood", "Sea Breeze", "Fairway of Peace," "South," "cooperative partner" joint exercises with units of the armed forces of France and Italy.

Structure

Operational Command South has operational staffs in Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, and Kherson oblasts.Operational Command South,

* 5th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, Kryvyi Rih, A4594
* 7th Signal Regiment, Odesa, А3783
* 11th Army Aviation Brigade
* 16th Support Regiment,, А2558
* 21st Mechanized Brigade, Odesa, A4689
* 22nd Mechanized Brigade, Mykhailivka, A4718
* 28th Mechanized Brigade, Chornomorske, А0666
* 31st Repair and Restoration Regiment, Podilsk, А1536
* 38th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, Nova Odesa A3880
* 40th Artillery brigade, Pervomaisk, A2227
* 41st Mechanized Brigade, Odesa, A4576
* 48th Separate Assault Battalion, Mykolaiv, A4945
* 56th Motorized Brigade, was based in Mariupol, А0989
* 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade, Kropyvnytskyi, А1736
* 59th Motorized Brigade, Haisyn, A1619
* 60th Mechanized Brigade A1962
* 61st Mechanized Jäger Brigade, Zhytomyr A3425
* 91st Command & Intelligence Center, Krasnosilka A2152
* 131st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, Hushchyntsi, А1445
* 143rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, Mykolaiv Oblast
* 144th Infantry Brigade, A4828
* 145th Maintenance Regiment, Mykolaiv, А1080
* 154th Mechanized Brigade A4962
* 159th Infantry Brigade, Mykolaiv Oblast
* 183rd Separate Material Support Battalion, Balta, A1559
* 225th Separate Transport Battalion, Balta, А3269
* 363rd Guard & Service Battalion, Odesa, A1785
* Radioelectronic Intelligence Center "South", Krasnosilka A3438
** 78th REI Center, Balta A2395
** 79th REI Center, Reni A2412
** 82nd Maneuverable REI Center, Krasnosilka A2444
* 23rd Electronic Warfare

Additional forces

The following formations of other branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, respectively the general staff of the Ukrainian ground forces, are based in the area of Operational Command South and can be assigned to the command as needed:Support Forces:

* 70th Support Brigade, in Bar
* 808th Support Brigade, in Bilhorod-DnistrovskyiAir Assault Forces:
* 79th Air Assault Brigade, in Mykolaiv
* 81st Airmobile Brigade, in DruzhkivkaMarine Corps:
* 35th Marine Brigade, in Dachne
* 36th Marine Brigade, in Mykolaiv
* 37th Marine Brigade, in
* 38th Marine Brigade, in
* 124th Territorial Defence Brigade "Kherson"
* 126th Territorial Defence Brigade "Odesa City"
* 406th Marine Artillery Brigade, in Mykolaiv
* 32nd Marine Artillery Brigade, in Altestove
* 140th Force Reconnaissance BattalionAir Force:
* 14th Radio Technical Brigade, in Odesa
* 19th Special Purpose Radio Intercept Brigade, in Halytsynov
* 160th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, in Odesa
* 208th Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade, in Kherson
* 201st Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade, in Pervomaisk
* 43rd Communication Regiment, in Odesa
* 101st Communication Regiment, in Vinnytsia
* 182nd Communication Regiment
* 28th Airfield Engineer Battalion, in Mykolaiv
* 1194th Electronic Warfare Battalion, in PervomaiskSpecial Operations Forces:
* Special Operations Center East, in Kropyvnytskyi
* 73rd Naval Special Operations Center South, in Ochakiv
* 83rd Information and Psychological Operations Center, in OdesaTerritorial Defense Forces
* 120th Territorial Defence Brigade "Vinnytsia"
* 121st Territorial Defence Brigade "Kirovohrad"
* 122nd Territorial Defence Brigade "Odesa"
* 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade "Mykolaiv"
* 1st Infantry Battalion "Vinnytsia"
* 9th Infantry Battalion "Kirovohrad"
* 12th Infantry Battalion "Odesa"
* 11th Infantry Battalion "Mykolaiv"
* 18th Infantry Battalion "Kherson"

Leaders

Colonel General Volodymyr Shkidchenko commanded the Odesa Military District from December 1993 until it became the Southern Operational Command in February 1998.

Commanders

General of the Army Vitaliy Radetsky
General of the Army Volodymyr Shkidchenko
Colonel General Oleksandr Zatynaiko
Colonel General Volodymyr Mozharovsky
Colonel General Hryhoriy Pedchenko
Colonel General Ivan Svyda
Lieutenant General Petro Lytvyn
Major General Ihor Fedorov
Lieutenant General Anatoliy Syrotenko
Major General Andriy Hryshchenko
Major Genera Oleh Vyshnivsky
Major General Ihor Palahnyuk
Major General Andrii Kovalchuk
Brigadier General Hennadii Shapovalov

Chiefs of staff - first deputy commanders

Major General Serhiy Shaptala

Deputy commanders

Major General Andriy Sokolov