This is the order of battle for the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present). It should not be considered complete, up-to-date, nor fully accurate, being based on open-source press reporting.
An updated order of battle estimate for 23 April 2023, by the Institute for the Study of War is accessible at: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 23 April Another ISW-relevant publication, published in October 2023:
Russian Regular Ground Forces Order of Battle: Russian Military 101
Russian forces in 2022
Administrative chain of command 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.
(President of the Russian Federation: Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin) Security Council Rosgvardiya (General of the Army Viktor Zolotov; Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Roman Gavrilov) Federal Security Service (General of the Army Alexander Bortnikov) Russian Border Guards (Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service and Head of the Border Service: Vladimir Kulishov) Federal Protective Service (Director of the Federal Protective Service: General Dmitry Kochnev) Ministry of Internal Affairs (Minister of Internal Affairs: Vladimir Kolokoltsev) Police of Russia Ministry of Defence (Minister of Defence: Andrey Belousov) Russian General Staff (Chief of the General Staff: General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Nikolay Bogdanovsky); National Defense Management Center (Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev) GRU (Director: Admiral Igor Kostyukov) 8th Directorate - Directorate Spetsnaz (Spetsnaz GRU) Russian Ground Forces (Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of Defence: General of the Army Oleg Salyukov) Russian Engineer Troops (Lieutenant General Yuri Stavitsky) Russian Missile Troops and Artillery (Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky) Russian Tank Troops Air Defence Troops of the Russian Ground Forces Russian Army Aviation Logistical Support of the Russian Armed Forces (Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who replaced Army General Dmitry Bulgakov in September 2022) Russian Railway Troops Russian Aerospace Forces (Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces and Deputy Minister of Defence: General of Army Sergey Surovikin) Russian Air Force (Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces: Lieutenant General Sergey Dronov) Russian Airborne Forces (Vozdushno-desantnye voyska (VDV)) (Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces: Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky who replaced Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov in June 2022 Russian Navy (Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy and Deputy Minister of Defence: Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov) Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy (Lieutenant General Viktor Astapov) Russian Naval Infantry (Lieutenant General ) Russian Naval Aviation (Major-General Igor Kozhin)
Initial force groupings Ukrainian military commentator Yuri Butusov listed the following initial March 2022 deployment of Russian/allied forces: +GroupingRoleLocated aroundForces fromEstimated strengthSouthwestern Belarusblocking contingent against Ukrainian forces in Western UkraineBrest, Luninyets, Baranavichy, Asipovichy and Minsk Northern Fleet (200th (Arctic) Motor Rifle Brigade, 61st Guards Naval Infantry Brigade) VDV (76th, 98th Guards Airborne Divisions)6–7 Battalion tactical group (BTGs)Southeastern BelarusKyiv offensive directionVepri, Elsin, Brahin, Khainini, Rechytsa and Mazyr5th, 35th and 36th Combined Arms Armies (CAA)7–9 BTGsBryansk Chernihiv offensive directionKlimovo, Klintsy, Pochep and Sevsk41st CAA and the 90th Guards Tank Division3 BTGsKursk–BelgorodSumy offensive directionTomarovka, Vesela Lopan', Zorino, Pristen', Kursk and Belgorod6th and 20th CAAs4 BTGsVoronezh Kharkiv offensive directionStary Oskol, Soloti, Valuyki, Boguchar, Pogonovo and Voronezh6th Tank and 20th CAAs13–14 BTGsSmolenskoperational reserve of the northern frontYelnya20th and 41st CAAs6–7 BTGsRostov Donbas and eastern Sea of Azov offensive directionRostov-on-Don and Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy8th CAA6 BTGsCrimea southern Ukraine offensive directionCrimean Peninsula (Slavne, Dzhankoi, Novoozerne, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Oktyabrskoye, Bakhchysarar, Angarskyi, Feodosia, Opuk) 58th CAA Black Sea Fleet's 22nd Army Corps (810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade)up to 13 BTGsKuban operational reserve of the southern frontKuban Peninsula (Novorossiysk, Korenovsk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar, Mol'kino and Maykop) and Stavropol 49th CAA Black Sea Fleet's 22nd Army Corps VDV's 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division6 BTGs
Russian leaders, 2022–23 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. President Vladimir Putin was repeatedly reported to be very involved, sometimes giving orders to field formations.
According to US officials, the commander of the Russian Southern Military District, Aleksandr Dvornikov, was placed in overall command on 8 April 2022. Analysts of the OSINT organisation CIT speculated that Dvornikov had been replaced by Gennady Zhidko in late May 2022, with US officials quoted in the New York Times also speculating that he had "disappeared". According to Mason Clark of the ISW, since Dvornikov and Zhidko remained "double-hatted" as Military District commanders during their reported terms as overall commanders, they were "first among equals" rather than true theatre commanders.
In October 2022 the Russian ministry of defence officially announced that Sergei Surovikin had been placed in charge of Russia's forces fighting in Ukraine, according to analyst John Hardie writing for the Long War Journal, Surovikin was "likely the operation’s first true unified commander". Surovikin, who Hardie described as "a competent commander" was replaced in January 2023 by Valery Gerasimov. The Russian ministry of defence claimed that Surovikin's replacement was necessitated by the need for a more senior officer to carry out an "amplified range of tasks," and to increase "cooperation between services and branches of the Armed Forces." According to Hardie, Suvorikin's replacement may have reflected "internal power politics".
Russian forces 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.
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 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."; The meetings likely took place before 16 April.
Direct Forces under President
(President of the Russian Federation: Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin) Security Council Russian General Staff (Chief of the General Staff: General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Nikolay Bogdanovsky) National Defense Management Center (Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev) Long Range Aviation - administratively Aerospace Forces; operationally, air operations centre of whatever description 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (Colonel Mykola Varpahovych) 52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (Tupolev Tu-22M) (Colonel Oleg Timoshyn)
Mercenaries and foreign fighters
Wagner Group (Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Utkin ) DShRG Rusich (Commander: Alexey Milchakov) Gazprom Neft Security Fakel Plamya Africa Corps ("Russian Expeditionary Corps") Patriot Redut ("1st Expeditionary Volunteer Assault Corps") (GRU)
Redut Union of Cossack Warriors of Russia and Abroad Don Brigade Listan Battalion Terek Brigade Skif Battalion 16th Special Forces Brigade of the GRU Volki ("Wolves") Brigade Tigry ("Tigers") Formation Veter 177 Formation Nevsky Formation Union of Donbass Volunteers Sever ("North") Formation Tsentr ("Center") Formation St. George's Brigade Zubr ("Bison") Formation Kherson Formation Artdivision Formation Vikhr ("Whirlwind") Formation Veterans of Russia Movement
Gazprom Neft Security Potok ("Flow") Formation Others 81st Special Forces Brigade ("bears") Lev ("Lion") Formation Rysi ("Lynx") Formation Borz Formation Espanola Formation Troya ("Troy") Formation Irbis ("Snow Leopard") Formation Imperial Legion Formation Rusich Formation
Tsar's Wolves Uran Korean People's Army (Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un) Korean People's Army Ground Force (Commander: Vice Marshal Ri Yong-gil) XI Corps 94th Separate Brigade Korean People's Army Special Operations Forces (Commander: Colonel General Kim Yong Bok) 92nd Special Operations Brigade 94th Special Operations Brigade Reconnaissance General Bureauhttps://www.nknews.org/2025/11/kim-jong-un-praises-elite-troops-that-fought-ukraine-as-model-for-dprk-military/ https://united24media.com/latest-news/north-korean-generals-behind-russias-war-effort-spotted-at-moscow-victory-day-parade-8309
Militias Storm Ossetia (Commander: Ayvengo Tekhov ) Alania Battalion Vladlen Tatarsky Battalion
Reserve units of the Russian Armed Forces BARS
Chechens Kadyrovites (Head: Colonel General Ramzan Kadyrov) 141st Special Motorized Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Magomed Tushayev) North Battalion
subordinate to the 42nd Motorised Rifle Division, 58th Combined Arms Army
Spetsnaz units Clear evidence as to which Grouping of Forces these brigades belong to is not readily available. 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Colonel Konstantin Bushuev) 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade 10th Spetsnaz Brigade 14th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Colonel Sergey Polyakov ) (formerly Lieutenant Colonel Albert Karimov ) 16th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Deputy Commander Major Dmitri Vladimirovich Semenov ) 24th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade