Oleg Ostapenko found his assistants

The Ministry of Defense continues to form a new type of troops - aerospace defense (ASD), created on the basis of the space forces. As Kommersant expected, Lieutenant General Oleg Ostapenko will soon become the commander of the aerospace defense forces. He will be assisted by Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov, Major General Oleg Maidanovich, and Colonel Andrei Ilyin.

Valery Ivanov was born on December 21, 1960 in the city of Opochka, Pskov region. He graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command School of Air Defense (1982), the Air Defense Academy (1994), and the General Staff Academy (2002). He served in the air defense forces in the Far Eastern and Transcaucasian military districts. In 1998-2000 - chief of staff of the 8th Air Defense Corps (Komsomolsk-on-Amur). In 2002-2003 he commanded the 76th Air Defense Division (Samara). Since 2003 - commander of the 1st Air Defense Corps (Moscow region). Since 2007 - Commander of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Khabarovsk). Since November 2010 - commander of the operational-strategic aerospace defense command. Lieutenant General.

Oleg Maydanovich was born on June 14, 1964 in Zhitomir (Ukraine). Graduated from the Rostov Higher Military Command and Engineering School (1986), the Strategic Missile Forces Academy (1998), and the General Staff Academy (2004). Since 1986 he served at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Since 2004 - Deputy Head, since 2007 - Head of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. In 2008, he became the head of the Plesetsk cosmodrome. On June 23, 2011, he was appointed head of the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Facilities named after German Titov. Major General.

Commander of the Russian Space Forces, Lieutenant General Oleg Ostapenko
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin, Kommersant

Since the late 1990s, Andrei Ilyin served in military unit 26178 (14th separate command and measurement complex) in Shchelkovo near Moscow. Since 2001 - chief of staff, since 2005 - unit commander. Since 2010 - Chief of Staff of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Colonel.

As Kommersant learned, the Ministry of Defense approved candidates for leadership positions in the East Kazakhstan region. Let us recall that, according to the plan developed by the General Staff of the Russian Federation, the aerospace defense forces will unite air defense (air defense) and missile defense (missile defense) systems. The Russian aerospace defense will include space forces, the joint strategic command of the aerospace defense of Moscow and air defense units of the air force.

Kommersant's sources in the Ministry of Defense again confirmed information about the appointment of General Ostapenko to the post of commander of the VKO troops (see Kommersant of August 10). According to them, the appointment documents were sent to Dmitry Medvedev for signing back in October: “It is possible that the decree will be published soon.”

According to Kommersant's sources in the Ministry of Defense, Major General Oleg Maidanovich will be responsible for the space component in the Aerospace Defense Forces. It will also be in charge of a space control system that monitors Earth satellites and space objects. Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov, who was previously responsible for the operational-strategic command of the aerospace defense of Moscow, should become the chief in charge of air defense and missile defense issues in the East Kazakhstan region. As one of Kommersant’s interlocutors noted, the DON-2 N multifunctional radar station will be included in the aerospace defense as a tactical and information tool. Previously, it functioned as part of the Moscow missile defense system and was intended to detect ballistic missiles, track them, measure coordinates and guide interceptor missiles. Now it will be repurposed to perform the same tasks, but as part of the Russian missile defense system.

It is planned that the chief of staff of the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Colonel Andrei Ilyin, will take a position in one of the three control points of the East Kazakhstan region - in Krasnoznamensk.

We would like to remind you that, according to the instructions of Dmitry Medvedev, VKOs should be finally formed by December.

Ivan Safronov Jr.

Candidate selection for the VKO troops passed