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Andrey Mordvichev
Russian general From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev (Russian: Андрей Николаевич Мордвичёв; born 14 January 1976) is a Russian colonel general who has been Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces since 2025. He previously commanded the Central Military District and the "Center" group of forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine from 2023 to 2025. Before that he was the deputy commander of the Central Military District from 2022 to 2023, and notably commanded Russian forces in the Siege of Mariupol (24.02.22 to 05.05.22) during that time. For his achievements he was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2024.[2]
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Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev was born on 14 January 1976 in Pavlodar in Kazakh SSR (present day Kazakhstan).
Mordvichev graduated from the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School in 1997 and the Combined Arms Academy in 2006.[3]
In 2010 he was deputy commander of the 5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade with the rank of lieutenant colonel.[4] Mordvichev commanded the 4th Separate Guards Tank Brigade from 2011 and the 28th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in 2014.[5][6]
He was promoted to major general on 12 June 2013.[7] After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 2016, Mordvichev was appointed deputy commander of the 68th Army Corps. In 2017 he was appointed chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.[8] In 2019 he was appointed chief of staff of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District.
Mordvichev was appointed army commander in 2021.[1]
Russo-Ukrainian War
He commanded the army during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Ukrainian sources falsely claimed he was killed[9][10][11][12] in an 18 March airstrike on an airfield in Chornobaivka.[9][13] This would have made him Russia's sixth general to be killed in the invasion and the most highly ranked casualty of the war up to that point.[14][13] However, Mordvichev's claimed death was not confirmed by Russian sources,[15][16] and on 28 March, Russian television broadcast images that showed Ramzan Kadyrov meeting Mordvichev in Mariupol.[17][18]
Mordvichev commanded Russian forces in the Siege of Mariupol (24.02.22 to 05.05.22). During that time. he ranked lieutenant general, and commanded units of the 8th Army of the Southern Military District.[19] For his achievements here he was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2024.[2]
Later in 2022, Mordvichev was named deputy commander of the Southern Military District.[1] From 17 February 2023, he commanded Russia's Central Military District, having replaced the promoted Colonel-General Aleksandr Lapin due to the previous territorial losses during the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive.[20]
As of April 2023 he was commander of the Center Grouping of Forces in Ukraine.[21] On September 7, Mordvichev was promoted to colonel general by a presidential decree.[22] According to an interview he gave at the end of July 2023 with the state-run Russia-1 television channel, Mordvichev views the invasion of Ukraine as a mere "stepping stone" to further conflict with Eastern Europe.[23][24]
In February 2024, Mordvichev was congratulated by president Vladimir Putin for capturing Avdiivka as the Russian commander-in-charge of the Battle of Avdiivka (2023–2024).[25]
In May 2025, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces in place of Oleg Salyukov when the latter reached the age of retirement and was promoted to the Security Council of Russia.[26][27] He was introduced to his new troops by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov.[3]
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Decorations
Mordvichev has received the following decorations:[1]
References
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