Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has appointed Lieutenant-General Ihor Voronchenko as Acting Commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine and conferred the rank of Vice Admiral on him.

The president announced this decision during an event to mark Day of the Naval Forces in Odesa on July 3, an Interfax-Ukraine reporter said.

The presidential decree on the appointment dated July 2 was posted on the Ukrainian president's website on July 3.

Voronchenko was born in the village of Babai, Kharkiv region on August 22, 1964. He graduated from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School, served in the Soviet military group stationed in Germany and subsequently in the Belarusian military district.

After the collapse of the USSR he swore loyalty to the people of Ukraine. Until 2003 he served in the National Guard as the commander of a mechanized infantry regiment which after the National Guard's re-organization into the Internal Troops of the Interior Ministry was handed over to the Armed Forces and deployed with coastal defense troops of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. At the time of the annexation of Crimea by Russia Voronchenko was the Naval Forces deputy commander for coastal defense. He commanded the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces in Luhansk region.

On April 15, 2016, Poroshenko signed a decree dismissing Serhiy Haiduk as the Commander of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.

On April 25, 2016, Poroshenko met with Lieutenant-General Voronchenko and announced his decision to appoint him as Acting Commander of the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.