Ihor Tenyukh

Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh (Ukrainian: Ігор Йосипович Тенюх ) is a former Ukrainian admiral and member of the nationalist Svoboda political party. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when dismissed by Viktor Yanukovych. Tenyukh fully supported the 2013-2014 uprising, and was appointed Minister of Defense of Ukraine in February 2014. After and because of accusations of indecision in the face of the Russian invasion of Crimea, he resigned on 25 March 2014.

During the Euromaidan rally in Kiev on January 19, 2014 Tenyukh warned of the dangers posed by the "coup d'etat planned by the current authorities" and called for members of the Armed Forces to defy "illegal" orders from those in power. He was quoted as saying "Tomorrow the regime will enslave you too. Therefore we are calling on you to fulfill your military oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people, and not to the authorities who have gone off the rails". Tenyukh was appointed on 27 February 2014 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Minister of Defense. Due to his indecisiveness during the annexation of Crimea, he submitted his resignation to the Ukrainian parliament on 25 of March which accepted it with 228 votes.

On March 19, 2010, President Viktor Yanukovich dismissed Tenyukh from his position after he was criticized for withdrawing from Crimea too slowly during the Russian annexation.

From November 2005 – 2006 he was deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Pursuant to decree #252/2006 dated March 23, 2006 the Ukrainian President appointed him from Rear Admiral to Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of Ukraine. On August 22, 2008, Tenyukh was promoted from Vice Admiral to the rank of Admiral.

From 1991 to 1995, he was a senior officer of maintenance of combat actions Department of the Navy of Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, chief of command of the Navy of the Main Staff of the Armed forces of Ukraine, chief of department of directions of the Main operational agency of General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In 1994, he graduated from the U.S. Defense Language Institute, and in 1997 he became a faculty member at National Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to prepare officers on an operational-strategic level. From 1997 to 2005, he was a commander of surface ships brigade and commander of combined arms squadron of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. In 2002, he was commander of the annual activation of the Black Sea Force BLACKSEAFOR.

Tenyukh graduated from the Frunze Higher Naval School, Leningrad in 1979 and began his career as a torpedo boat officer. From 1983 to 1991, he rose through the ranks of commander of coastal mine-sweeper, executive officer of, then commander of seagoing mine-sweeper, chief of the armament and equipment stores department on a mine and anti-submarine armament base. He was for a time attached to training and advising the Indian Navy and the Algerian Navy as a liaison officer. In 1991 he became a member of the Defense and State Security Commission of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), and participated in the development of a bill on the creation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.