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In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mykolaiovych and the family name is Chmut.

Taras Mykolaiovych Chmut (Ukrainian: Тарас Миколайович Чмут; born 13 October 1991) is a Ukrainian sergeant, volunteer, and military analyst who has worked as the head of the Come Back Alive charity since 2020. He previously served as a military servicemember of the Ukrainian Marine Corps from 2015 to 2017, serving in the War in Donbas. Representative of the Ministry of Defence on the Supervisory Board of the Defence Procurement Agency (October 2024 – January 2025; since February 2026).[1][2][3][4]

Early life and career

Taras Mykolaiovych was born in the city of Korostyshiv on 13 October 1991. His father was a businessman, while his mother was an employee of the United Nations Development Programme.[5] At the age of 16, he founded the Ukrainian Military Portal.[6] He is a graduate of the National Aviation University, specialising in Complex Pilot-Navigational Equipment.[5]

Prior to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Chmut was the coordinator of transparency non-governmental organisation Opora in Zhytomyr Oblast.[7]

On October 14, 2008, Chmut co-founded Militarnyi as a social media group.[8] Militarnyi is now Ukraine’s most prominent military news website, with over 2 million unique visitors every month.[9]

War in Donbas

Following the beginning of the War in Donbas in 2014, Chmut began volunteering to assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the Ukrainian Military Portal. Following his graduation from the National Aviation University, he joined the Ukrainian Marine Corps in 2015, becoming a member of the 501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion.[6]

Chmut continued his volunteer activities while in the Marine Corps, collecting funds to modernize the SVD rifles used by his battalion’s snipers, as well as providing them with other modern sniping equipment.[10] He also continued to publicly report on problems within the Armed Forces, leading to a strained relationship with his commanders and his eventual redeployment outside of the Donbas in September 2015. After being placed in a staff job in Mykolaiv, Chmut protested his redeployment, and transferred to the 137th Marine Battalion in May 2016. In the 137th Battalion, he received training from British and American instructors in military theory and the usage of unmanned aerial vehicles, respectively. He also participated in the Sea Breeze-2016 [uk] military exercises, and travelled to Lithuania, where he received further training.[11]

Following his return from Lithuania, Chmut again began fighting in the Donbas, and served two tours of duty, in October 2016 and June 2017.[11] He fought at the Shyrokyne standoff before being demobilised in 2017[12] at the rank of sergeant.[13] At the time of his departure, he was also the commander of the 137th Battalion’s intelligence detachment.[5]

Volunteer activities

After his departure from the Marine Corps, Chmut returned to the Ukrainian Military Portal before joining the Come Back Alive charity as an analyst at the end of 2017. He became the charity’s director on 24 November 2020.[12]

With the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Come Back Alive acquired increased attention. The charity spent $16.5 million in May 2022 to purchase Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles,[14] a purchase Chmut later stated was responsible for maintaining Ukraine’s independence in the early period of the war.[15]

On August 3, 2022, Taras Chmut, on behalf of the Come Back Alive charity, signed a memorandum of further partnership with Baykar‘s CEO Haluk Bayraktar.[16]

On December 7, 2022, at the invitation of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, he testified at a hearing on the Ukrainian volunteer movement before the U.S. Congress. He discussed the foundation’s support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the establishment of cooperation with American organizations.[17] Additionally, he called for Ukraine to be removed from the list of countries subject to crime control export restrictions.[18][19]

In September 2023, Taras Chmut told The Wall Street Journal that much of the Western armor supplied to Ukraine was underperforming on the battlefield because it had been designed for low- to medium-intensity conflicts rather than all-out war. He argued that Western allies should shift focus toward delivering simpler, cheaper systems in greater quantities — a request Ukraine has repeatedly made.[20]

In February 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Taras Chmut as the representative of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on the Supervisory Board of the Defence Procurement Agency. The decision was made upon the submission of Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov.[1][2][3]

In June 2026, Taras Chmut announced that the Come Back Alive charity had signed a contract worth more than 1.92 billion hryvnias (approximately US$42.7 million) for the needs of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. According to him, the agreement provides for the supply of Ukrainian-made unmanned aerial vehicles, with implementation scheduled for 2026.[21]

Recognition

In 2022, Chmut was recognised by Forbes Ukraine as a member of the magazine’s “30 under 30” list.[22] He also received the Defender of the Motherland Medal on 23 August 2022 for his efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian military,[23] and was further decorated with the Light of Justice [uk] award by the Ukrainian Catholic University in 2023.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b “Taras Chmut, Co-Founder of Militarnyi, Becomes Member of the Supervisory Board of the Defense Procurement Agency”. Militarnyi. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  2. ^ a b “Taras Chmut appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Defence Procurement Agency DOT | MoD News”. mod.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 5 February 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  3. ^ a b “Taras Chmut has returned to the Supervisory Board of the Defence Procurement Agency”. antikor.ua. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  4. ^ “Taras Chmut Appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Defense Procurement Agency”. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Levytska, Iryna (21 July 2020). “Армія готова до війни. Це найважливіший здобуток із 2014 року” [Army ready for war: the most important gain since 2014]. Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b Velychko, Ruslana (6 December 2017). “Три товариші. Історії волонтерів, що пішли служити в ЗСУ” [Three comrades: stories of volunteers serving in ZSU]. Insider (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ^ “Військовослужбовець-волонтер Тарас Чмут розповів Житомир.info про волонтерську діяльність та конфлікт з командуванням” [Soldier and volunteer Taras Chmut tells Zhytomyr.info about volunteer activities, conflict with commanders]. Zhytomyr.info (in Ukrainian). 28 September 2015.
  8. ^ “About Us”. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  9. ^ “Advertising on Militarnyi”. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  10. ^ “Тарас Чмут пішов служити за контрактом, не чекаючи повістки” [Taras Chmut went to serve under contract, without waiting for summons]. Zhytomyr First (in Ukrainian). 3 July 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b Kozliuk, Stanislav (18 March 2018). “Морпіх і його щоденники” [A Marine and his diaries]. The Ukrainian Week (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b “Благодійний фонд “Повернись живим” очолив Тарас Чмут”. LB.ua. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  13. ^ “Україна відбере свої моря у Росії?” [Will Ukraine retake her seas from Russia?]. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). 5 July 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  14. ^ Krasnomovets, Pavlo (26 July 2022). “Фонд «Повернись живим» придбав та доставив в Україну комплекс Bayraktar з трьох БПЛА за $16,5 млн” [Come Back alive foundation purchases and delivers to Ukraine Bayraktar complex, three UAVs for $16.5 million]. Forbes (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  15. ^ Malyasov, Dylan (6 July 2023). “Bayraktar TB2 drones saved the country, Ukrainian expert says”. Defence Blog. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  16. ^ Veremeeva, Nataly (4 August 2022). “Official Partnership: Come Back Alive Foundation & Baykar Technologies · TechUkraine”. TechUkraine. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  17. ^ “Директор фонду «Повернись живим» Тарас Чмут виступив у Конгресі США :: Свідомі”. svidomi.in.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  18. ^ Ізвощікова, Анастасія (8 December 2022). “Чмут закликав США виключити Україну зі списку кримінального контролю торгівлі”. Суспільне | Новини (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  19. ^ “Taras Chmut called on the USA to exclude Ukraine from the Crime Control Column of the Commerce Control List”. Militarnyi. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  20. ^ Spirlet, Thibault. “Western-made armor isn’t working in Ukraine because it wasn’t designed for a conflict of this intensity, Ukrainian analyst says”. Business Insider. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  21. ^ “Ukraine’s biggest military charity secures US$42.7m drone deal for Ukrainian troops”. Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  22. ^ Kholodnova, Anna (22 August 2022). “Forbes published this year’s “30 under 30” ranking. On the list — Volyna, Chmut, “Kurgan & Aggregat”“. Babel. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  23. ^ Zelenskyy, Volodymyr (23 August 2022). “Указ Президента України №593/2022” [Act of the President of Ukraine No. 593/2022]. President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  24. ^ “У Львові оголосили лауреатів нагороди «Світло Справедливості»” [Light of Justice award laureates announced in Lviv]. Galinfo (in Ukrainian). 13 February 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.