“Everyone knows what a lightning operation!” an adviser to President Zelenskyy said in April 2022, announcing that the commander of Ukraine’s navy had been made a Vice Admiral. The officer was Oleksiy Neizhpapa, and the operation was the sinking of the Russian cruiser Moskva.
From Sevastopol to command
Neizhpapa was born in Sevastopol, Crimea, in 1975. He graduated from the Sevastopol Naval Institute in 1997, finished operational-tactical training there in 2008 and took an advanced degree at Ukraine’s National Defense University in 2015.
His career ran from lieutenant to captain of first rank. He commanded frigates and surface vessel brigades, earned promotions as both ship and brigade commander, and regularly led the Ukrainian-U.S. Sea Breeze exercises. He also took part in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donetsk and Luhansk. From 2015 to 2019 he was deputy commander for combat training and ran the navy’s training programme. In April 2020 he became deputy navy commander.
On June 11, 2020, Zelensky signed Presidential Decree № 217/2020 appointing the then Rear Admiral to lead the navy, UNIAN reported.
The Moskva and the promotion
On April 13, 2022, Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the Black Sea Fleet flagship, a missile cruiser Ukrinform valued at $750 million. It sank the next day. U.S. officials assessed that two Neptunes struck it, roughly 60 nautical miles south of Odesa. Moscow said fire and an explosion on board sank the ship.
The casualty count is murky. The Russian defence ministry acknowledged five deaths. Oleksiy Danilov, then secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said 510 crew were aboard and 58 survived.
Fox News reported on April 18, 2022 that Neizhpapa was elevated to Vice Admiral, with Ukrainian officials crediting a “brilliant operation.” The same adviser added: “Congratulations and we wish further no less brilliant operations!”
His own account
In an April 2025 interview with Radio Liberty’s Crimea.Realities project, carried by Ukrinform, Neizhpapa, by then a Vice Admiral, said Ukraine had become the first country to destroy a missile cruiser in wartime. The Moskva, he explained, had been sealing off the combat area and directing other ships deployed between Snake Island and Cape Tarkhankut.
“As they believed, it was to prevent NATO warships from entering the combat area, as far as I understand it. Or so that we could not pull any of our ships or boats from this area,” he said.
He believed the strike sent the Russian fleet a message. “We understood that if we pull this off, the enemy will understand that they will no longer be able to approach our coast at such a range, while we will be able to drive them away from Odesa,” he said.
Sources
- Military appointment: Zelensky taps Rear Admiral Neizhpapa to command navy (UNIAN)
- Ukraine Navy chief is promoted by Zelenskyy following sinking of Russia's Moskva warship (Fox News)
- Navy Commander: Ukraine first country to destroy missile cruiser in wartime (Ukrinform)
