Order of battle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

For a chronological order of battles, see List of military engagements during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This is the order of battle for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It should neither be considered completely up-to-date nor accurate, being based on open-source press reporting.

An updated order of battle estimate for April 23, 2023, by the Institute for the Study of War is accessible at:

Another ISW-relevant publication, published in October 2023:

Russian forces in 2022

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Senior commanders for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
Andrey Belousov, Minister of Defence since May 2024
General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff and commander of Russian forces in Ukraine

Administrative chain of command

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Commanders of the various MOD armed services and branches do not have operational control over the forces. They are responsible for force development and generation. The Chiefs of the ground forces, aerospace forces, navy, strategic missile forces, and airborne forces also hold the appointments of Deputy Ministers of Defence, junior to the Chief of the General Staff, who is the First Deputy Minister of Defence.

The General Staff commands and controls forces through the National Defence Management Centre (NDMC). Operational control of the forces was carried out by the five Operational-Strategic Commands—the Western, Southern, Central, and Eastern Military Districts and the OSK Northern Fleet, which is their equal. The Western and Southern Military Districts share borders with Ukraine and are directly involved in command and control of operations.

Pre-2022 Russian military doctrine had specified that on the outbreak of war, armed forces from non-MOD services (like Rosgvardiya) would be placed under the General Staff.[1]

Initial force groupings

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Ukrainian military commentator Yuri Butusov listed the following initial March 2022 deployment of Russian/allied forces:[13]

Grouping Role Located around Forces from Estimated strength
Southwestern Belarus blocking contingent against Ukrainian forces in Western Ukraine Brest, Luninyets, Baranavichy, Asipovichy and Minsk 6–7 battalion tactical groups (BTGs)
Southeastern Belarus Kyiv offensive direction Vepri, Elsin, Brahin, Khainini, Rechytsa and Mazyr 5th, 35th and 36th Combined Arms Armies (CAA) 7–9 BTGs
Bryansk Chernihiv offensive direction Klimovo, Klintsy, Pochep and Sevsk 41st CAA and the 90th Guards Tank Division 3 BTGs
Kursk–Belgorod Sumy offensive direction Tomarovka, Vesela Lopan', Zorino, Pristen', Kursk and Belgorod 6th and 20th CAAs 4 BTGs
Voronezh Kharkiv offensive direction Stary Oskol, Soloti, Valuyki, Boguchar, Pogonovo and Voronezh 6th Tank and 20th CAAs 13–14 BTGs
Smolensk operational reserve of the northern front Yelnya 20th and 41st CAAs 6–7 BTGs
Rostov Donbas and eastern Sea of Azov offensive direction Rostov-on-Don and Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy 8th CAA[a] 6 BTGs
Crimea southern Ukraine offensive direction Crimean Peninsula (Slavne, Dzhankoi, Novoozerne, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Oktyabrskoye, Bakhchysarar, Angarskyi, Feodosia, Opuk) up to 13 BTGs
Kuban operational reserve of the southern front Kuban Peninsula (Novorossiysk, Korenovsk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar, Mol'kino and Maykop) and Stavropol 6 BTGs

Russian leaders 2022-23

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Despite evolving Russian doctrine, which specified all troops and forces operating from one Operational-Strategic Command (OSK) be placed under one commander, multiple repeated sources (Rochan Consulting, Center for Naval Analysis, British Ministry of Defence) reported that separate groupings of forces drawn from each of the four military districts, under the leadership of senior personnel from that military district, took part in the initial invasion.[14] President Vladimir Putin was repeatedly reported to be very involved, sometimes giving orders to field formations.[15]

In April 2022, the invasion began to run into setbacks; Russian forces were forced to withdraw from their attempt to take Kyiv. Therefore, a single senior coordinating officer was appointed to handle the more protracted war.

  • Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov (8 April 2022 – 25 June 2022): placed in overall charge of military operations in Ukraine, effectively ending the grouping system;[16]
  • Colonel General Gennady Zhidko (26 June 2022 – 7 October 2022): appointed by Vladimir Putin to the top position, replacing Dvornikov;[16]
  • Army General Sergey Surovikin (8 October 2022 – 11 January 2023): previously commander of the Aerospace Forces and Army Group South, replacing Zhidko in overall command.[17]

Russian forces

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Since 12 January 2023, Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov was appointed as commander of military operations in Ukraine, with Surovikin as his deputy.[18]

The actual operational chain of command of the Russian military effort in Ukraine is not public, changes, and is a mix of state and non-state bodies. Personal rivalries are evident. President Vladimir Putin, however, remains firmly in control, sometimes micromanaging. The loose connection of various mercenary bodies and Ramzan Kadyrov's Chechens to the official command chain[19] has been represented by placing them under headers separate to the Russian Armed Forces.

It is unclear how tactical fighter, ground attack, and strategic bomber "sorties" (one flight of one aircraft) are scheduled and controlled.

On 18 April 2023, Russian official sources said that President Putin had held meetings in the Kherson area with several commanders. The President "..received reports from the commander of the Dnepr forces grouping, General Lieutenant Oleg Makarevich, the commander of the Vostok [Eastern] forces grouping, General Lieutenant Andrey Kuzmenko, and the deputy commander of the combined grouping, General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky."[20] The meetings likely took place before April 16.

Direct Forces under President

Mercenaries

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Militias

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  • Storm Ossetia (Commander: Ayvengo Tekhov †)[38] (disbanded in June 19, 2023)
  • Alania Battalion[39]
  • Vladlen Tatarsky Battalion[40]

Reserve units of the Russian Armed Forces

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Chechens

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Spetsnaz units

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Clear evidence as to which Grouping of Forces these brigades belong to is not readily available.

Units returned to Russia:

Joint Group of Forces

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Ukrainian forces

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Senior Ukrainian commanders for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine[377]
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Lieutenant General Yurii Sodol, Commander of the Joint Operational Command

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Ukraine says the 8th CAA has operational control over the Donetsk People's Republic People's Militia and the Luhansk People's Republic People's Militia, naming them the Russian 1st and 2nd Army Corps
  2. ^ According to the Law "On The National Guard of Ukraine" ("Про Національну гвардію України") Article 6, paragraph 3: "With the enactment of a state of martial law, the National Guard of Ukraine shall be prepared to perform its assigned tasks and shall be subordinated to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, except for the military units tasked with escorting and guarding people under arrest and those military units guarding diplomatic missions.")[380]
  3. ^ Commanders of the three armed services hold no operational authority. They are subordinated to the commander-in-chief.
  4. ^ According to the Law "On The National Security of Ukraine", the commanders of the armed services and separate combat arms generate the combat units and give over operational control over them to the Commander of the Joint Operational Command
  5. ^ commands the armed forces and security forces contingents facing the Russian-controlled Donbass separatist forces, successor to the previous Anti-Terror Operation (ATO)
  6. ^ previously the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps

References

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  1. ^ Greg Whisler (2019). "Strategic Command and Control in the Russian Armed Forces: Untangling the General Staff, Military Districts, and Service Main Commands (Part One)". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 32 (4): 468. doi:10.1080/13518046.2019.1690188.
  2. ^ "Vladimir Putin turns on his own as he vows to 'purify' Russia of traitors". 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Vitaly Gerasimov: second Russian general killed, Ukraine defence ministry claims". The Guardian. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Russia says Ukraine fired mortars at Bryansk border post". euronews. 15 April 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  5. ^ Ivshina, Olga. "Элитные специалисты. Кого именно потеряла российская армия в Украине [Elite specialists. Who exactly lost the Russian army in Ukraine]". BBC News Русская Служба (in Russian). Retrieved 1 September 2022. From open sources, it is known about 20 FSB and FSO officers who died during the invasion of Ukraine. Most of these losses are employees of the border troops who are subordinate to the FSB. However, there are among the dead and officers of the most secret units.
  6. ^ Korshak, Stefan (22 April 2022). "Mayor claims partisans killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in occupied Melitopol". Kyiv Post.
  7. ^ a b "'Butcher of Mariupol': Russian general Mikhail Mizintsev is a mystery to experts". The Washington Post. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Russian special forces have entered Kyiv to hunt down Ukraine's leaders, says Zelensky". inews.co.uk. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  9. ^ "La Russie remplace son général chargé de la logistique en pleine campagne de mobilisation". 24 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. ^ a b c Clark, Mason; Hird, Karolina; Stepanenko, Kateryna. "Russian General Officer Guide - MAY 11 2022". Institute for the Study of War. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  11. ^ Seddon, Max (24 February 2022). "Vladimir Putin orders start of 'military operation' in eastern Ukraine". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  12. ^ "declassified the new commander of the paratroopers of the Russian Federation". 17 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  13. ^ Butusov, Yuri (18 February 2022). "Отвода войск РФ от границ Украины нет, а замечена новая активность врага, - Бутусов. КАРТА [No Retreat of Russian Forces from the Ukrainian Border, new enemy activity sighted - Butusov. MAP]". censor.net. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Russia's War in Ukraine: Military and Intelligence Aspects". Congressional Research Service. 13 February 2023. p. 8.