Petro Lipko

Petro Lipko was born on December 16, 1876 in the town of Biryuch, Voronezh Province. His social background was Cossacks. He served in various units of the Russian Imperial Army. He graduated from the Tiflis Infantry Junkers School (1899). He participated in the Russo-Japanese War. In 1908, as a Staff Captain, he entered the Imperial Mykolaiv Military Academy, graduating with a 1st class degree in 1911.

He met the outbreak of World War I as a Senior Aide-de-Camp of the 1st Don Cossack Division with the rank of Captain. He continued his service at the headquarters of the 9th Army, where, along with other duties, was involved in military intelligence for some time as a Staff Officer for Assignments serving in the Intelligence Department of the Staff.

In August 1917, he was promoted to Colonel. After the Central Rada proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic in Kyiv, he was appointed Commander of the Ukrainianized 10th Army Corps (December 1917). Later, he served as the Acting Chief of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Army of the Ukrainian State (June 1918). During the Directory, he served in the Military Intelligence of the General Staff of the UPR Army (from February 12, 1919). In February – March 1919, he headed the Intelligence Department of the General Staff.

In the summer of 1919, he was a member of the UPR military delegation negotiating an armistice with the Polish Command, and soon headed the delegation. In May 1920, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Active Army of the UPR, and on October 5 of the same year he was promoted to the rank of Khorunzhyi General. From November 1921, he was the Commander of the UPR Reserve Troops, which were stationed in camps for interned Ukrainian military servicemen in Poland.

In early October 1922, Lipko returned from exile. In January 1930, he was arrested by the Nizhyn district department of the gpu of the Ukrainian ssr for counterrevolutionary activities. Petro Lipko was executed by shooting in March 1930.