Oleg Tsokov

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Yuryevich and the family name is Tsokov.

Oleg Tsokov
Tsokov in 2021
Native name
Олег Юрьевич Цоков
Birth nameOleg Yuryevich Tsokov
Born(1971-09-23)23 September 1971
Gʻazalkent, Uzbekistan, Soviet Union[1]
Died (aged 51)
Berdiansk, Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Cause of deathKilled in Action
AllegianceRussia
Service/branchRussian Ground Forces
Years of service1990–2023
RankLieutenant general
Commands held
Battles/wars

Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov (Russian: Олег Юрьевич Цоков; 23 September 1971 – 11 July 2023) was an Uzbek-born Russian lieutenant general who served in the Russian Ground Forces as deputy commander of the Southern Military District. He was killed in 2023 by a missile strike during a Ukrainian counteroffensive against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biography[edit]

Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov was the son of Yuri Georgievich, a military officer, and Alla Ivanovna, a physicist-mathematician.[2] Since his family moved often, he grew up on military bases and studied at eleven different schools, including in Choibalsan and Semipalatinsk, before receiving his secondary education certificate. Following in his father's footsteps, Tsokov chose a military career and was accepted to the Tashkent Higher Combined Arms Command School. Graduating in 1994, he was posted to the 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade at Yurga in the Siberian Military District as a motor rifle platoon commander. Tsokov was deployed to the First Chechen War with the brigade, taking part in the storming of the Grozny Oil Institute during the Battle of Grozny in January 1995. After the end of the battle, Tsokov's unit was sent back to Siberia, but he was sent back to Chechnya for four months as a motor rifle company commander, with his unit attached to a spetsnaz detachment. Tsokov rose to battalion deputy commander with the 74th Brigade before being accepted to the Frunze Military Academy. Graduating in 2000, Tsokov, by then a major, returned to the brigade, fighting in the Second Chechen War that year as commander of a battalion-tactical group formed around the brigade's 2nd Motor Rifle Battalion. He remained battalion commander until 2004, being promoted to lieutenant colonel.[2]

Tsokov was promoted to colonel and brigade deputy commander in 2004, gaining the rank at the relatively young age of 32. His career continued to advance as he was promoted to command the 228th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 85th Motor Rifle Division in 2006.[2] After his regimental command, he was appointed chief of staff and deputy commander of the 36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in the Eastern Military District, serving there from 2009 to 2011.[3] In November 2010, the Investigative Committee of Russia charged Tsokov with committing fraud and abuse of power during his period in command of the 228th Regiment. The case involved a deal in which he illegally promised eleven conscripts early demobilization in return for signing service contracts, then embezzled 80,000 rubles from the soldiers' contract signing bonuses.[4][5]

This case did not affect his career and in 2011 Tsokov was transferred to serve as chief of staff and deputy commander of the 33rd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, based at Maykop. From 2014 to 2015 he commanded the 810th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade.[6] From 2015 to 2018, he commanded the 205th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Budyonnovsk,[7] being promoted to major general on 12 December 2016.[8] From 2018 to 2019, he was deputy commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army.[9] Tsokov passed the exams for the Military Academy of the General Staff, entering the academy in September 2019. After graduating from its national security and state defense department in June 2021,[10][11] Tsokov was appointed chief of staff of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army.[12]

Tsokov took part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February 2022. He was involved in missile attacks against Ukrainian cities. In August 2022, he took command of the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. In September 2022, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Oleksii Arestovych claimed that Tsokov was wounded while commanding the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. A Russian telegram channel confirmed his wounding but stated that Tsokov had in fact commanded the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army since summer 2022,[13] and Tsokov's successor in command of the 144th Division was described as having taken over from Tsokov in summer 2022.[14] Subsequently, Tsokov was promoted to deputy commander of the Southern Military District, and received a promotion to lieutenant general on 17 February 2023.[15] He was killed on 11 July in a strike against the command post of the 58th Combined Arms Army in Berdiansk, during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[16][17] Tsokov's death at age 51[18] was confirmed by the Russian milblogger telegram channel Military Informer, making him one of the two highest-ranking Russian officers killed in Ukraine as of July 2023.[19][20] He was buried on 13 July.[21]

Awards[edit]

Tsokov received the following decorations:[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=33978
  2. ^ a b c Rudyk, Taras (6 October 2007). "На таких армия держится" [The army depends on such people]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ^ Litovkin, Viktor (1 April 2011). "Мастерство ускоренного вызревания" [Mastery of accelerated aging]. Nezavisimaya gazeta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Командира войсковой части обвиняют в мошенничестве с контрактами" [Military unit commander accused of fraud with contract servicemen]. Novosibirsk Online (in Russian). 13 November 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Бывший командир войсковой части обвиняется в мошенничестве (Новосибирск)". Tayga.info (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ^ Pasyakin, Vladimir (23 August 2014). "Бригаду морской пехоты Черноморского флота возглавил новый командир" [Naval Infantry brigade of the Black Sea Fleet headed by new commander]. ForPost (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  7. ^ Sobolev, Andrey (21 February 2017). "Любить, защищать, жертвовать" [To love, defend and sacrifice]. Stavropolskye Vedomosti (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 12.12.2016 г. № 665". Президент России (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  9. ^ Pavlushova, Yuliya (10 May 2018). "Как отметили День Победы в Ставрополе" [How Victory Day was celebrated in Stavropol]. Stavropolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  10. ^ Pinchuk, Aleksandr (4 September 2019). "Здесь научат побеждать" [Here they teach how to win]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  11. ^ Grabber, Aleksandr (28 June 2021). "Встреча с выпускниками военных вузов" [Meeting with graduates of military training institutions]. Fotoparatstsi (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Церемонию открытия форума «Армия-2021» в Самарской области посетили более 1,7 тыс. человек" [More than 1,700 people attended the opening ceremony of the Army-2017 forum in Samara Oblast]. Samara Today (in Russian). 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Вчера советник офиса Президента Украины Алексей Арестович в эфире Ютуб..." Совинформбюро 2.0. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  14. ^ "В прошлый четверг Губернатор встретился с командиром 144-й гвардейской Ельнинской дивизии". Подслушано в Ельне. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  15. ^ "О присвоении воинских званий высших офицеров и специальных званий высшего начальствующего состава". Official publication of legal acts (in Russian). 17 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. ^ Voitovych, Olga; Gigova, Radina (11 July 2023). "Russian senior commander killed near Russian-occupied southern city, Ukrainian officials say". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  17. ^ Gregory, James (12 July 2023). "Ukraine: Russian general reported killed in attack on Berdyansk hotel". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  18. ^ Knight, Mariya; Voitovych, Olga; Carey, Andrew; Lister, Tim; Pennington, Josh (11 July 2023). "Russian commander killed while jogging may have been tracked on Strava app". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023. ... a Russian Telegram channel, Military Informer, wrote Tuesday that a "strike by British Storm Shadow cruise missiles on the 58th Army's reserve command post near Berdyansk," killed "the deputy commander of the Southern Military District, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov." Tsokov, 51, appears to have been a rising star in the Russian military. ...
  19. ^ "Еще один российский генерал погиб на войне в Украине" [One more Russian general killed in war in Ukraine]. Moscow Times (in Russian). 11 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Russian General Reportedly Killed in Ukraine". The Moscow Times. 12 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  21. ^ "В Майкопе простились с замкомандующего ЮВО Олегом Цоковым, погибшим в ходе СВО". Кубань 24 (in Russian). 13 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Встреча с выпускниками военных вузов". Президент России (in Russian). 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
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