Historical background
The Military Institute of Armored Forces of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” (hereinafter MIAF NTU “KhPI”), as a professional military education institution of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was established in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 549 of July 19, 2017.
On August 24, 2017, the President of Ukraine, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, presented MIAF NTU “KhPI” with the Battle Flag of the Institute and the Diploma of the President of Ukraine.
According to Order № 159 of April 6, 2020, issued by the Commandant of the Military Institute of Armored Forces of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute,” September 19, 1997, was designated as the Institution’s anniversary date, in accordance with Resolution № 1036 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 19, 1997.
On April 17, 2020, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Colonel General Ruslan Khomchak approved the sleeve insignia of MIAF NTU “KhPI”.
The sleeve insignia has the appearance of a Spanish-style heraldic shield divided into black (symbolizing the armored forces) and green (symbolizing the color of the Kharkiv coat of arms) with a silver border. The central element of the insignia is an emblem in the form of a golden gauntlet holding a silver scroll, symbolizing iron will in training. Above the shield is a black decorative ribbon with silver edging and the inscription “Strength, Courage, Honor.”
On April 11, 2023, by decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny (in accordance with Order № 129 of May 5, 2022, “On the Award of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ”For Participation in the Defense of Ukraine”) for merits demonstrated in combat operations against the Russian Federation, as well as in honor of the heroism of the personnel of the educational institution during the defense of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, MIAF NTU “KhPI” was awarded the distinction “For Participation in the Defense of Ukraine” Kharkiv 2022.
By order of the People’s Commissar of Defense № 58 dated February 7, 1943, the 33rd Guards Separate Tank Brigade was formed.
From June 17, 1943, the brigade’s tank crews, as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front, took part in the liberation of Ukraine from the German-Nazi invaders. They broke through enemy defenses on the Mius River (Mius Front) and, over time, liberated the villages near Saur-Mogila, which were located in the direction of the main strike of the formation, from the fascists. On September 9, 1943, units of the brigade completely cleared the city of Ilovaisk of German occupiers.
After breaking through the defenses on the Mius River and fighting their way through the territory of the so-called Donbas conglomerate within Ukraine, in mid-October 1943, the brigade’s tankers took part in the liberation of Kakhovka. After the battles for Kakhovka, on the orders of the commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the brigade was sent to the Melitopol area, and in December 1943 to the city of Pavlohrad, to the Pavlohrad tank military camp, for reorganization.
Due to the fact that the Armed Forces were being equipped with new models of equipment, in particular T-44 tanks, there was a need for officers who would be able to master the latest formidable combat vehicles. As a result, by order of the Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense dated August 23, 1943 №. 0041, the Guards Kharkiv Tank School (lieutenants) was formed on the basis of the tank brigade.
At the end of September 1944, the tank school was relocated from the Pavlograd tank military camp to Kharkiv, to the military town where the 1st Kharkiv Tank School had previously been located, which was transferred to Chirchik in 1941.
On March 19, 1945, the first class of 247 tank officers graduated. This was followed by four more classes in April, July, October, and December 1945. They provided the armored forces with 760 junior lieutenants and 64 junior technical lieutenants.
On January 18, 1946, the school switched to a three-year program. In addition to social, economic, and military subjects, the curriculum included general education courses. Upon graduation, officers were awarded the military rank of lieutenant and received a high school diploma.
In September 1966, the school became the Kharkiv Guards Higher Tank Command School with a 4-year training period for cadets and the issuance of state-approved diplomas in higher engineering education to officers.
On January 12, 1992, the school’s personnel swore allegiance to the people of Ukraine. Since that year, graduates and military personnel of the educational institution have begun to participate in UN and NATO peacekeeping missions.
On September 14, 1997, in the city of Kharkiv, for the first time in the history of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, solemn events were held on the professional holiday of Tankers’ Day.
On September 19, 1997, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution №.1036, on the basis of which the school was transformed into the Kharkiv Institute of Armored Forces.
On August 20, 2002, the Department of CBRN Defense was transferred from the Kharkiv Military University to the Kharkiv Institute of Armored Forces.
According to Resolution №. 321 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 12, 2003, the Kharkiv Institute of Armored Forces became part of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute.”
On March 2, 2004, the Chair of of Reserve Officers’ Military Training began its work as part of the Institute.
In September 2004, the Chapel of St. John the Warrior Martyr was opened on the territory of the PME institution.
In 2004, for its significant contribution to the training of highly qualified personnel for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Institute was awarded the Diploma of Saint Sophia of Kyiv in the category of PME institutions of Ukraine based on the results of 2003.
In January 2005, state testing of the T-64 tank crew simulator was successfully completed with the participation of officers and cadets of the Institute.
In accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine №. 381 of May 26, 2005, and the Directive of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine No. 322/1/02 of March 3, 2007, the Kharkiv Institute of Armored Forces of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” was reorganized into the Department of Military Training of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”.
In November 2008, the department introduced retraining and advanced training courses for officers.
After the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the start of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in the east of the country involving the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military personnel from the Institution took an active part in the fight against the enemy.
From March to July 2014, the department’s combined tank unit, consisting of crews from the permanent staff and using the educational institution’s standard equipment, participated in combat missions to defend the state border together with units of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade.
During the ATO in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2015, more than 180 military personnel from the department took part in combat operations. Many of them were awarded state awards and departmental distinctions from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Subsequently, cadets from the educational institution were constantly involved in combat missions in the Joint Force Operations (JFO) zone to provide assistance in the repair and restoration of weapons and military equipment.
In 2014-2015, during the initial stages of the ATO, the educational institution’s repair units restored and sent to the front line approximately three hundred units of armored and automotive equipment, including: tanks – 10 units, BMD-2 – 5 units, BTR-80 – 169 units, BMP – 2(1) – 99 units, BREM-1 – 1 unit, BRDM-2 – 4 units, automotive equipment – 2 units. During their repair training at the Kharkiv Armored Repair Plant, cadets repaired 10 T-72B tanks for units performing tasks in the ATO zone.
On July 21, 2014, Captain Oleksandr Lavrenko, as part of the crew of a T-64BV tank, engaged in an unequal battle with terrorists for the village of Pisky. One of the militants’ tanks was destroyed by a direct hit, and subsequent shots destroyed mortar crews and two buses carrying mercenaries.
During the battle, the tank hit a landmine. Both crew members were killed, and Captain Oleksandr Lavrenko was seriously wounded. To avoid being captured and prevent the enemy from seizing the combat vehicle, the officer blew himself up with a grenade inside the tank.
In December 2016, a corner dedicated to the military glory of 2005 graduate and Hero of Ukraine Captain Oleksandr Lavrenko was opened at the Institution.
In May 2017, the Department of Military Training was visited by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, General of the Army of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak, who reviewed the state of the material and technical base and held a working meeting to discuss initiatives to transform the department into a Military Institute.
By Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 549 of July 19, 2017, the Department of Military Training named after the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” was reorganized by transforming it into the Military Institute of Armored Forces of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”.
In 2018, the institute opened an alley of Heroes of Ukraine – graduates of the Institute.
On February 2, 2019, a meeting of representatives of the religious community of the Institute was held, and a decision was made to transfer the community to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In October 2019, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine visited the Institute on an archpastoral visit. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine familiarized himself with the history of the renowned educational institution.
On July 20, 2019, about 700 students of the Chair of Reserve Officers’ Military Training, swore allegiance to the Ukrainian people and received the military rank of “junior reserve lieutenant.”
In 2017, 2018, and on August 24, 2021, festive military parades were held in the center of the Ukrainian capital to mark the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. During the events, servicemen from the Military Institute of Armored Forces marched down Khreshchatyk Street.
On August 29, 2020, on the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine who died in the struggle for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, monuments (busts) to the graduates of the Institute, Heroes of Ukraine Captain Serhiy Kolodiy and Captain Oleksandr Lavrenko, were unveiled on the territory of the Institute.
In November 2020, at the Ukrainian Armed Forces competition for the best CBRN reconnaissance platoon among units of the Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Assault Forces, and Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the team from the Military Institute of Armored Forces of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” took first place.
On September 24, 2021, the Military Institute of Armored Forces was visited by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny, who reviewed the exhibits of the Museum of Combat Traditions, inspected the modern material and technical base of the Institute, and identified ways to further improve the training of the Institute’s officers, in particular command-level tank officers, for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On December 6, 2021, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, paid a working visit to the Military Institute of Armored Forces.
On February 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., the Institute held solemn events on the occasion of Unity Day, in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine – Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine № 53/2022 dated February 14, 2022.
Since February 24, 2022, the personnel of the Institute, using standard combat equipment, have been defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of Ukraine from the Russian invasion. A reserve of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was formed on the basis of the Military Institute of Armored Forces, which was organizationally incorporated into the Kharkiv Defense Forces, where, along with other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, etc., it performed tasks to defend the Hero City Kharkiv.
At strongholds (Tsyrkuny, Kulynichi, Piatykhatky, Solonitsivka, Bezlyudivka, Kutuzivka, Mist, etc.) in the city’s defense system, 153 members military personnel, 16 tanks, and about 20 armored combat vehicles were involved. The Institute also formed a mobile reserve on standard armored vehicles, which usually fired from closed firing positions. The Institute’s units were tasked with inflicting losses on the enemy to reduce its offensive capabilities and gain time to prepare to repel the aggressor.
Thanks to the timely and decisive actions of the Institute’s military personnel, a few hours before a massive missile strike on the Kharkiv Armored Plant, 11 repaired and modernized tanks were evacuated and preserved for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were immediately put into combat units of the Institute. The crews of the vehicles were composed of soldiers from the PME Institution who were performing combat tasks to defend Kharkiv from the occupiers.
On March 6, 2022, nearly two hundred young officers graduated early from the walls of the renowned educational institution, directly from combat positions. They were patriotic and determined, well-trained professionally, and had already gained combat experience in the Russian-Ukrainian war during the defense of Kharkiv.
The Institute’s military personnel took direct part in the battles for the liberation of the settlements of Tsyrkuny, Ruska Lozova, Ruski Tyshky, Cherkaski Tyshky, Pitomnyk, Dementiivka, and others.
During the period of hostilities, cadets and specialists from the Institute repaired the following vehicles at the assembly point for damaged vehicles: 26 tanks (6 of which were transferred to combat units), 6 BMP units, 4 BTR-4E (3E) units, 7 BTR-80 (70) units, and 3 BRDM units.
On May 29, 2022, the President of Ukraine, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for their personal courage and selfless actions in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and their loyalty to the military oath, presented state awards to military personnel of the Institute who took an active part in the defense of Kharkiv from Russian invaders. The Commandant of the Institute, Colonel Oleksandr Serpukhov, was promoted to the military rank of Brigadier General in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine.
In order to rotate cadets and instructors, changes were made to the Institute’s staff, and a combined unit was introduced into the structure of the PME institution. These changes made it possible to replace 100% of the cadets and some of the faculty members in combat units and, starting on May 2, amid constant rocket and bomb attacks on the city, to continue the educational process in newly equipped classrooms located in the basements of the educational buildings.
Внаслідок постійних ракетних обстрілів Харкова і області керівництвом Збройних Сил України було прийняте рішення про переміщення навчального закладу до більш безпечного місця дислокації. У третій декаді серпня 2022 року особовий склад вишу, з відповідною навчально-матеріальною базою, убув для продовження освітнього процесу до західної частини України.
Due to constant rocket attacks on Kharkiv and the region, the management of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to relocate the PME institution to a safer location. In the third decade of August 2022, the personnel of the Institute, with the necessary educational and material base, moved to the western part of Ukraine to continue the educational process.
At the end of August 2022, the first-year cadets took the military oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people. Among the cadets of the Institute were future command officers, recruited for the first time since the last graduation in 2007.
On September 15, 2022, the Institute’s personnel celebrated the Day of Specialists of the CBRN Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which, in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is celebrated as an annual holiday.
On October 21, 2022, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov awarded the Institute’s military personnel with commemorative medals “For the Defense of the Hero City Kharkiv” for their conscientious performance of their duties, personal courage and selfless actions during combat missions, and loyalty to the military oath.
From November 15 to 17, 2022, the management of the Institute visited Yaroslav Dombrovsky Military Technical Academy (Warsaw, Republic of Poland) as part of NATO’s DEEP Program “Improving Military Education.”
On June 23, 2023, the Institute held its regular graduation ceremony for lieutenants. The graduates of this renowned PME institution joined the officer corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a great sense of pride and responsibility for the fate of our Motherland.
The President of Ukraine, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, congratulated graduates of Ukrainian PME institutions via video conference.
Major General
Volodymyr MYKHAILOV
(up to July 1993)
Colonel
Valerii POPOV
(July 1993 – June 1997)
Major General
Mykola KECHEV
(June 1997 – September 2003)
Major General
Anatolii SYROTENKO
(November 2003 – August 2007)
Brigadier General
Oleksandr SERPUKHOV
(September 2007 – nowadays)
Since 1944, cadets at the PME institution studied the T-34 tank and the T-44 tank, which was the latest model at that time. In 1947, cadets began to master the new T-54 tank model. Since 1967, cadets started mastering the newest combat vehicle of Kharkiv tank builders – the T-64 tank.
All these tanks were designed by the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau and the Kharkiv Engine Design Bureau and manufactured by the Kharkiv Armored Plant (formerly the Kharkiv Transport Engineering Plant), in the case of evacuation (T-34, T-44) during World War II.
In 1995, Major General Mykhailo Borisyuk, Chief Designer of Armored Vehicle Construction in Ukraine and Hero of Ukraine, presented the T-84 tank to the officers of the Institution. This was the latest creation of the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau, State Enterprise “Kharkiv Design Bureau of Engine Building” and State Enterprise “Kharkiv Armored Vehicle Plant.”
In September 2015, Rector of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Professor Yevhen Sokol said: “Kharkiv is Ukraine’s Tank City, precisely because our city is home to all the components that ensure the security of the state in the field of tank building. The Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute has the only chair in Ukraine named after O. Morozov, which trains specialists in the field of tank building, information technologies, and wheeled and tracked vehicle systems, and our university conducts scientific research in the field of tank building. Kharkiv has always had a military educational institution that trained and continues to train top-level tank specialists.”
