The operation command traces its history back to Territorial Directorate "North", which was created on the basis of Northern Territorial Operational Command by Directive No.322/1/010 of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine on 20 May 2005.[3]
On 15 August 2005, temporary Chief of the Directorate Colonel Yuriy Horoliuk signed the first Order within the Directive. This day is considered the creation date for the Directorate. The Territorial Directorate "North" was the first to switch to a new system of control.[3]
History
Map of the Operational Command North shown in dark green
When Ukraine gained independence, the 1st Guards Army was stationed on Ukrainian territory with its headquarters at Chernihiv. During the early 1990s, the army was reformed into the 1st Army Corps. In 1996, the Northern Operational and Territorial Command was formed from the corps. At the beginning of 1998, the command was split into the Northern Operational Command, managing operations in the area. The Northern Territorial Command controlled other functions. In August 2005, Territorial Directorate "North" was established from the Northern Operational Command.
The Directorate was responsible for territory spanning over 196,000 km2 (75,676 sq mi), in which 15,000,000 people lived in 2008. The oblasts (provinces) of Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy were all are under the Directorate control. The Directorate was in charge of the 7 oblasts and Kyiv City Military Commissariat, 135 regional military commissariats, 530 military units and bases.[3] As of 2008, the mission of the directorate was to organize territorial defence, recruit conscripts and contract soldiers and manage infrastructure.[3]
In November 2013, the directorate was reformed into Operational Command North. The command absorbed units of the disbanded 13th Army Corps.
Organization
Structure of the Operational Command North in 2017 as per the best available Ukrainian language sources.
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 North and can be assigned to the command as needed:
This table includes commanders of Northern Operational Command (1992–2005), Territorial Directorate "North" (2005–2013) and Operational Command North (2014–).