ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 15 - RIA Novosti. The funeral of the Soviet deputy commander of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant General Fyodor Kostenko, whose remains were discovered in Ukraine 74 years after his disappearance, will take place at the military memorial cemetery in Moscow on June 20, military commissar of the Rostov region Anatoly said at a briefing on this topic. Trushin.

He said that in November 2016, the military commissariat of the Rostov region received information from the Ukrainian search team "Orientir" that in the Kharkov region of Ukraine they had discovered the remains of presumably Lieutenant General Kostenko. “According to our data, for the first time since the end of the Great Patriotic War, the remains of a military leader of such a high rank have been found,” Trushin noted.

After some time, Kostenko’s granddaughter Tamara was identified, who now works at the Russian embassy in Hungary. The process of transferring the remains from Ukraine to Russia has begun. “The work was complicated by the fact that there are no former friendly relations with Ukraine today... the transfer process dragged on for almost a year,” Trushin said. At the end of 2017, a Rostov laboratory confirmed that the remains belonged to Kostenko.

“On June 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the recommendation of the Minister of Defense, made a decision to bury Kostenko at a military memorial cemetery in the Moscow region,” Trushin added. The burial will take place on June 20, with military honors being given in Rostov-on-Don on June 18.

Kostenko was born in 1896 in the Bolshaya Martynovka settlement, Rostov region. Since 1915 in the Russian army. During the Civil War he was a Red Army soldier, squadron sergeant major, assistant commander, and then squadron commander. In 1937, he headed the special cavalry division named after Stalin, in 1939 - commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, which participated in the liberation campaign in Poland, Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.

In 1940, he was appointed commander of the 26th Army, which at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, as part of the Southwestern Front, fought defensive battles in the Vinnitsa direction, and in July 1941 participated in the Kyiv defensive operation. In September 1941, Kostenko was deputy commander of the Southwestern Front.

He distinguished himself by commanding a mobile group of the front during the counter-offensive near Moscow, in the Yeletsk offensive operation, which ended in the defeat of several German divisions and the liberation of 400 settlements from occupation. He went missing in May 1942, while surrounded in the Kharkov direction. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, and two Orders of the Red Star.

February 22, 1896 – May 26, 1942

Soviet military leader, participant in the Great Patriotic War, lieutenant general

Biography

Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko was born on February 22, 1896 in the settlement of Bolshaya Martynovka, now the Martynovsky district of the Rostov region into a peasant family. Ukrainian.

In the tsarist army since 1915. Participant of the First World War, senior non-commissioned officer. In 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. During the Civil War, assistant squadron commander of the 1st Cavalry Army division. Participated in battles against the troops of generals K.K. Mamontov, A.G. Shkuro, A.I. Denikin.

Education

• training team (1916),
• Leningrad courses for middle command personnel (1924),
• cavalry KUKS (1928 and 1934),
• KUVNAS at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army named after. K.E. Voroshilov (1941).

Participation in wars and military conflicts

• Civil War (Red Army soldier; squadron sergeant major; squadron assistant commander);
• campaign in Western Ukraine (room of the 2nd Cavalry Corps of the 6th Army).

During the interwar period

• com. 1 squadron (from November 1922),
• etc. beginning regimental school (since February 1926),
• beginning regimental school (since October 1928),
• pom. com. (from April 1931) 23 Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad) Cavalry. shelf;
• com. and military commissar (from July 1936) of the 19th cavalry. shelf;

G.K. Zhukov: On the same day I went to the 19th Manychsky Cavalry Regiment - the head, oldest regiment of the division, commanded by Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko, one of the first cavalrymen. I didn’t know him personally before, but I had heard a lot about this conscientious commander, a great cavalry enthusiast, an indispensable participant in all equestrian competitions, which were widely practiced in the cavalry at that time. The Great Patriotic War found F. Ya. Kostenko in the post of commander of the 26th Army, which defended our state borders in Ukraine. Under his command, units and formations of this army fought so stubbornly that, suffering colossal losses, the fascist troops were unable to break through into the depths of Ukraine in the first days. Unfortunately, Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko was not lucky enough to live to this day. He died a hero's death in a fierce battle in the Kharkov direction, being deputy commander of the Southwestern Front. His beloved eldest son Peter died with him. It was impossible not to love Pyotr Kostenko. I remember that while still a boy, Peter studied military science, and he especially liked horse riding and chopping. Fyodor Yakovlevich was proud of his son, hoped that Peter would make a worthy cavalry commander, and he was not mistaken.

• com. (7th Cavalry Division June 1937);
• com. Special Cav. divisions named after I.V. Stalin (from June 1937);
• com. 36 cavalry divisions; com. 2 Cav. corps (since April 1939);
• commands Army cavalry group of troops KOVO (since July 1940).
• Since October 1940, Lieutenant General F. Kostenko has been commander of the 26th Army.

In 1941 he completed advanced training courses for command personnel at the Military Academy of the General Staff.

Great Patriotic War

The 26th Army fought heavy defensive battles as part of the Southwestern Front. Then it was withdrawn to Kyiv, where it participated in the defense of Kyiv. In the most difficult situation, the army was withdrawn to the left bank of the Dnieper and again took up defensive positions. In September 1941, he was appointed deputy commander of the Southwestern Front (second formation).

He headed the operational group of front troops during the Yeletsk offensive operation from December 6 to 16, 1941, which ended in the defeat of several enemy divisions. As a result of the Yelets operation, Soviet troops liberated 400 settlements, including Yelets. In mid-December 1941, F. Ya. Kostenko was appointed commander of the Southwestern Front. Since April 1942 - again deputy commander of this front.

Troops under the command of Kostenko fought near Kiev, Moscow, and participated in the Kursk-Oboyan, Barvenkovo-Lozov and Kharkov operations.

Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko died on May 26, 1942, being encircled with his troops during the Kharkov operation. The burial place is unknown.

Awards

• The order of Lenin
• Order of the Red Banner
• 2 Orders of the Red Star
• medals

Memory

The following were named in honor of F. Ya. Kostenko:

• Street and alley in Lipetsk.
• Kostenko street in Yelets.

Fedor KOSTENKO was born on February 22, 1896 in the settlement of Bolshaya Martynovka, Salsky District, Don Army Region. From 1915 he served in the tsarist army and took part in the First World War. In 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. During the civilian years, he was an assistant squadron commander and took part in battles. In 1919 he was wounded near Rostov-on-Don. He was a squadron commander and head of the regimental cavalry school. From 1932 - commander of the 19th Manych Cavalry Regiment, from 1937 - commander of the Special Cavalry Division named after Stalin, from April 1939 - commander of the 36th Cavalry Division, then commander of the 2nd Corps. Participated in the military campaign of the Red Army in the eastern regions of Poland and Western Ukraine. Since October 1940 - commander of the 26th Army.

FIRST we contacted representatives of Orientir. They clarified that two graves located nearby were found in a forest 50 kilometers from the city of Zmiev. One contained the remains of a man aged 30–35 years old in military uniform with captain’s buttonholes. In the second - the remains of an older, tall man, fragments of clothing with general's stripes, a piece of paper with the name "Kostenko" was found in the pocket of his jacket, which immediately crumbled.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the troops of the 26th Army fought heavy defensive battles in the Vinnitsa direction, and in July 1941 they took part in the Kyiv defensive operation. Finding themselves surrounded, they were able to fight their way out to their own people. In September 1941, Kostenko became deputy commander of the Southwestern Front. He distinguished himself while commanding a mobile group during the counter-offensive near Moscow, in the Yeletsk offensive operation. Since December 1941, Kostenko has been commander of the Southwestern Front, and since April 1942, deputy commander of this front.

In the memoirs of Marshal Georgy Zhukov we find: “On the same day I went to the 19th Manych Cavalry Regiment - the head, oldest regiment of the division, commanded by Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko, one of the first cavalrymen. I didn’t know him personally before, but I had heard a lot about this conscientious commander, a great cavalry enthusiast, an indispensable participant in all equestrian competitions, which were widely practiced in the cavalry at that time. The Great Patriotic War found F.Ya. Kostenko as commander of the 26th Army, which defended our state borders in Ukraine. Under his command, units and formations of this army fought so stubbornly that, suffering colossal losses, the fascist troops were unable to break through deep into Ukraine in the first days. Unfortunately, Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko was not lucky enough to live to this day. He died a hero's death in a fierce battle in the Kharkov direction, being deputy commander of the Southwestern Front. His beloved eldest son Peter died with him. It was impossible not to love Pyotr Kostenko. I remember that while still a boy, Peter studied military science, and he especially liked horse riding and chopping. Fyodor Yakovlevich was proud of his son, hoped that Peter would make a worthy cavalry commander, and he was not mistaken.”

TOGETHER with the employees of the regional military registration and enlistment office, we are searching for the general’s relatives. We turned for support to the Russian Ministry of Defense Directorate for Perpetuating the Memory of Those Who Died in Defense of the Fatherland, the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense, and search engines. Searches in the Martynovsky district did not yield any results. From the capital's archives, only the composition of Fyodor Yakovlevich's family was reported: wife Vasilisa Panteleevna, daughter Ulyana born in 1914, son Peter born in 1923, daughter Rada born in 1925, son Budimir born in 1925. Good news from the Office for Perpetuating the Memory of Fallen Defenders of the Fatherland - they are reporting about the granddaughter of General Tamara Budemirovna Kostenko. It turns out that the registry office workers made a mistake in her middle name when they issued the birth certificate. The granddaughter has lived in Hungary for many years and works at the Russian embassy. Tamara Budemirovna’s adult children, Daria and Nikita, also live in Hungary.

They began to settle formalities related to the transfer of the found remains to Russian territory. This process took quite a long time. It involved a lot of people on both sides of the border. At the same time, the issue of conducting an identification examination was being resolved in Branch No. 2 of the Federal State Institution “111th Main State Center for Forensic Medical and Forensic Examinations” of the Russian Ministry of Defense, better known as the 124th Military Forensic Medical Laboratory. Fragments of the remains were initially transferred here - the main part of them remained on Ukrainian territory.

Tamara Kostenko was invited to the Don capital. She visited the laboratory where DNA samples were taken. The general’s granddaughter spoke about the Kostenko family and showed a photo from the family album. However, there was still no answer to the key question - about the last days of Fyodor Kostenko's life.

The first thing that can be said firmly today is that son Peter, along with General Kostenko, did not die! Marshal Zhukov, who appears to have been misinformed, was mistaken in his recollections. This was confirmed by the general’s granddaughter. What about the archives? We read information from the report about irretrievable losses: “Kostenko Petr Fedorovich, born in 1923, native of the village. Martynovka, Rostov Region, pilot of the 273rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, shot down in battle near Stalingrad on September 27, 1942, fell on the northern outskirts of the village. Verkhne-Pogromnoye, buried there. Posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree."

LET'S RETURN to the Kharkov events of May '42.

The main goal of the Soviet offensive operation was the defeat of the enemy group, the capture of Kharkov and the creation of conditions for the development of an offensive jointly with the Southern Front in the Dnepropetrovsk direction.

The operation of the South-Western direction was led by Marshal S.K. Timoshenko, member of the Military Council N.S. Khrushchev and Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General I.Kh. Bagramyan. The operation began on the morning of May 12 and at first progressed successfully. On May 15, our troops were 20–30 kilometers from Kharkov. However, already on May 17, General Kleist’s 1st Tank Army delivered a cutting blow to the rear of the Soviet troops and advanced 25 kilometers to the north, closing the encirclement ring. In the most difficult days of the operation, Marshal Timoshenko united the encircled Soviet troops into an army group under the command of Lieutenant General Fedor Kostenko and ordered it to break through the encirclement and reach the left bank of the Seversky Donets.

It was not possible to implement this plan - the enemy, having forestalled the Soviet troops, resumed the offensive on a wide front on the morning of May 24, trying to dismember the encircled group. General Kostenko on May 25 decided to strike in the direction of Csepel with the forces of three rifle, two cavalry divisions, three tank brigades, the remnants of tank corps and break through to the main forces of the front. However, the unexpected happened: uncontrolled units of the 337th, 47th and 253rd rifle divisions, which were supposed to ensure a breakthrough, entered the deployment area of ​​the strike group, leaving their positions without orders. A disorderly accumulation of a large mass of people, military equipment, and vehicles formed. The breakthrough failed. Kostenko and his staff did everything to establish control and organize a new offensive. But given the almost complete disorganization of the troops and the lack of communication, this was impossible.

In the vicinity of the village of Lozovenka, from May 26 to May 29, battles raged continuously, fierce and bloody. The generals went to break through the encirclement, shoulder to shoulder with their soldiers and commanders. Only a few managed to escape the encirclement. Kostenko was not among them... During the 18 days of the Kharkov operation, the losses of our troops amounted to 277,190 people, of which 170,958 were irrevocable (killed, missing, died from wounds) and 106,232 were sanitary (sick, wounded, shell-shocked, who were sent to the rear). The exact number of those captured is still unknown - according to various sources, it ranges from 100 to 200 thousand people. After the war, the main culprits of the Kharkov tragedy, Timoshenko, Bagramyan and Khrushchev, occupied high government positions and did everything to ensure that the truth about the events of May 1942 was hidden. In his famous report to the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Khrushchev placed all the blame for the Kharkov defeat on Stalin.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES of Kostenko’s death are still unknown. He was not among the prisoners of war; in archival documents he was listed as missing in action on May 25, 1942, in other sources he was listed as killed on the battlefield. There are also suggestions that he shot himself.

One of the photographs brought by Tamara Budemirovna Kostenko shows Fyodor Yakovlevich with two officers, a major and a captain. Below is the signature: “Adjutants of the G.L. Kostenko T.T. Gavrilin and Petrovich." We can easily find information about them on the Ministry of Defense website “OBD. Memorial". According to archival documents, both Major Alexey Ilyich Gavrilin and Captain Vasily Ivanovich Petrovich were considered missing in May 1942. But in 1947, Gavrilin, according to a report from the Moscow military commissar, was recognized as alive, but V.I., called up from the Lugansk region. Petrovich, apparently, was with his commander until the end.

The remains of the second soldier bore the captain's buttonholes; the surname Petrovich closely resembles the name Peter (in Ukrainian: Petro). One can guess why Marshal Zhukov was mistaken in his memories.

– We can say with complete confidence that the name of General Kostenko is on a par with the heroic commanders of the first days of the Great Patriotic War, such as the commander of the 33rd Army Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov, the commander of the 19th Army Mikhail Fedorovich Lukin, the commander of the Southwestern Front Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos and many others,” notes regional military commissar Anatoly Trushin. – Fyodor Yakovlevich fulfilled his military duty to the end, remained faithful to the military oath, his Motherland and his people...

AS the examination of the fragments has shown, the remains of Lieutenant General Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko were indeed found near Kharkov with a “high degree” of probability. The Ukrainian side, having familiarized itself with the expert opinion, handed over the discovered remains to representatives of the military commissariat of the Rostov region. We'll let you know what happens next.

We thank for the work done and assistance in preparing the material the employees of branch No. 2 of the 111th Main State Center for Forensic Medical and Criminalistic Expertise of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian search engines Sergei Bursov, Mikhail Sayany, Oleg Bidulin, Maxim Kolosov, and their Belgorod colleagues from the search team “Rodina” (headed by Roman Abbasov), representative of the military registration and enlistment office of the Rostov region Nikolai Ponomarenko and Nikolai Maslennikov, who is a confidant of the Kostenko family.

Kostenko's troops in the summer of 1941 put up fierce resistance to the enemy. The Nazis were unable to quickly advance across the territory of Ukraine. And in December, the offensive near Yelets and the defeat of several German divisions accelerated the victory in the battle of Moscow.

Volleys of guns and a guard of honor. After 76 years - a farewell, as befits a general. All this time, Fyodor Kostenko, commander of the Southwestern Front in 1941 and 1942, was considered missing. Only two years ago, near Kharkov, Ukrainian search engines discovered the burial of Soviet soldiers. One - judging by the remains of clothing - clearly belonged to the highest command staff. With him is a piece of document with the name Kostenko.

“The burial is located on the territory of another state, there were certain difficulties in this matter, but at the same time, together with search engines from Ukraine and Russia, we succeeded. The remains were transported to Rostov-on-Don,” said Valery Kudinsky, deputy director of the Russian Ministry of Defense for perpetuating the memory of those killed defending the Fatherland.

The present investigation lasted a year and a half. Archives, approvals, months of laboratory research. It was literally a miracle that we managed to find our granddaughter - she works in Hungary.

“She has a very rare middle name - Budimirovna. In 1925, when Kostenko had triplets, they named their triplets based on the combination “There will be peace, joy, and love.” The result was a son - Budemir, Rada and Lyubov,” said military commissar of the Rostov region Anatoly Trushin.

In the family of Tamara Budimirovna Kostenko, a photo album with photographs of her grandfather is a real relic. Looking at the pictures, since childhood she wanted to know what happened to him. Arriving in Russia, I took a DNA test, and it gave a positive result.

“When it was discovered, it was very difficult to believe. Of course, it’s very exciting, my legs are shaking, my hands are shaking, when I met him at Chkalovsky, I was hysterical, for example, I don’t know why. It seems to me that he hears me,” Tamara Kostenko worries.

Lieutenant General Fedor Kostenko in May 1942 fell into the enemy’s ring. This was the infamous Kharkov operation, when the Soviet army lost about 300 thousand people. Georgy Zhukov sadly recalled General Kostenko, who went missing in this cauldron, in his memoirs. The marshal valued him for his vast military experience.

Fedor Kostenko participated in three wars. At the age of 19 - the First World War, then the Civil War, he was one of the first legendary cavalrymen. During the Great Patriotic War he participated in the defense of Kyiv and led a group of troops in the Yeletsk offensive operation.

The result of that offensive was the defeat of several enemy divisions and the liberation of hundreds of settlements. Lieutenant General Fedor Kostenko is buried at the Federal War Memorial Cemetery. Among those who, like him, gave their lives for the Fatherland.

KOSTENKO Fedor Yakovlevich, (22.02. 1896, settlement B. Martynovka, now the town of Martynovsky district, Rostov region - 26.5.1942, died on the South-Western Front). Ukrainian. Lieutenant General (1940).

Served in the Russian army since 1915, art. non-commissioned officer. In World War I he fought on the Southwestern Front as a platoon commander.

In the Red Army since 1918. Graduated from the Leningrad refresher courses for middle command personnel (1924), cavalry advanced training courses for middle and senior command personnel of the Red Army (1928 and 1934), KUVNAS at the Academy of the General Staff. K. E. Voroshilova (1941).

During the Civil War, Red Army soldier F. Ya. Kostenko, company sergeant, assistant squadron commander of the cavalry division of the 1st Cavalry Army, participated in battles against the troops of generals K. K. Mamontov, A. G. Shkuro, A. I. Denikin on the Southern Front .

In the interwar period, from 1922, F. Ya. Kostenko was commander of a cavalry squadron, head of the regimental cavalry school, assistant regiment commander for household affairs. Since 1932, commander of a cavalry regiment and division. Since 1939, commander of the cavalry corps, commander of the army cavalry group of the district, since October 1940, F. Ya. Kostenko, commander of the 26th Army of KOVO.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, army troops as part of the Southwestern Front fought heavy defensive battles against the advancing 17th Nazi Army, holding back the enemy in the Vinnitsa direction, west of the city of Proskurov. The 8th Mechanized Corps, withdrawn from the 26th Army, took part in a frontal counterattack in the Brody area on July 25-27. In the second half of July, army troops were concentrated south of Kyiv and participated in the Kyiv defensive operation, launching a number of counterattacks against the 1st Tank enemy group and delaying its advance. Then, in extremely difficult conditions, they were withdrawn to the left bank of the Dnieper, where they continued to conduct defensive battles in the area south of the city. Kyiv, Zolotonosha.

Since September 1941, F. Ya. Kostenko has been deputy commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front. He distinguished himself while commanding a mobile front group (consisting of five divisions, motorized rifle and tank brigades) during the counter-offensive near Moscow, in the Yeletsk offensive operation. Troops under the command of F. Ya. Kostenko from the area southwest of the town of Terbuny (Lipetsk region) launched a sudden attack on the flank and rear of the Nazi troops. Having defeated the 45.95 and partially the 134th infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht, they paralyzed the control of the enemy’s Yeletsk-Livensk group. These actions of the army ensured the release of Messrs. Livny, Yelets, the liquidation of the Yelets ledge, diverted the actions of part of the forces of the 2nd Nazi Tank Army and provided assistance to the troops of the Western Front, who were performing the main task. From December 18, 1941, the commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front, whose troops distinguished themselves in the Barvenkovo-Lozovsky operation, advanced 100 km and captured a large bridgehead on the right bank of the river. Seversky Donets. Since April 1942, deputy commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front. Participated in the Battle of Kharkov, carried out with the aim of defeating the Kharkov enemy group and liberating the cities of Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. The battle was lost. Our troops suffered great losses and were surrounded, where F. Ya. Kostenko died in battle.

Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, 2 Orders of the Red Star, and medals.