The air-defense general who ordered KAL 007 shot down, later commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force
"I will always be convinced that I gave the right order": Kornukov on the KAL 007 shootdown.
Born the son of a Donetsk miner in the Ukrainian SSR, Anatoly Kornukov rose through the Soviet air-defence forces to become the general who, on 1 September 1983, ordered the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 as it crossed Sakhalin. When his superiors refused to take responsibility, he directed the interceptor pilot Major Osipovich to destroy the target on his own authority, maintaining to his death that the order was justified under Soviet and international law. Neither rewarded nor punished for the incident, he kept rising and in 1998 became the first commander-in-chief of the unified Russian Air Force. The decision cost 269 civilian lives, and he later declared he would 'always be convinced that I gave the right order.'
Career Timeline
- 1959Joined the Soviet armed forces, entered flight school
- 1964Qualified as fighter pilot, posted to 54th Guards Fighter Regiment
- 1974–1976Commander, 777th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Sakhalin)
- 1980–1985Commander, 40th Fighter Aviation Division (Far East, Sakhalin, Kurils)
- 1983.09Ordered interceptor pilot Osipovich to shoot down KAL 007
- 1985–1988Commander, 71st Fighter Aviation Corps (GSFG, East Germany)
- 1990–1991Commander, 11th Air Defense Army (Khabarovsk)
- 1998–2002Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force; led the VVS–PVO merger