Aleksandr Sanchik

Aleksandr Semyonovich Sanchik (Russian: Александр Семёнович Санчик; born 15 October 1966), is an officer of the Russian Army who is currently the commander of the Southern Military District since November 2024. He holds the rank of colonel general.

Aleksandr Sanchik
Sanchik in 2020
Native name	Александр Семёнович Санчик
Birth name	Aleksandr Semyonovich Sanchik
Born	(1966-10-15) 15 October 1966 (age 58)[1] Moscow, Soviet Union[1]
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Russia
Service / branch	Soviet Army (to 1991)  Russian Ground Forces
Years of service	1985–present
Rank	Colonel general
Commands	Southern Military District Eastern Military District (acting)
Battles / wars	Russo-Ukrainian War

Sanchik had been the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Eastern Military District in 2023.^[2] From May to November 2024, he was the acting Commander of the Southern Military District.^[3] Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he is under sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.

Biography

Aleksandr Sanchik was born in Moscow on 15 October 1966.^[1] From 1985 to 1989, he was a cadet of the Tashkent Higher Tank Command Order of Lenin School named after twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Armored Forces P. S. Rybalko. In 2000, he graduated from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

From 2013 to 2014, Sanchik was the commander of the 27th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. From 2014 to 2015, he was the commander of the 2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division. He served in the Russian military intervention in Syria. He held major command positions from tank platoon commander to commander of a combined arms army.

In 2015, he was a student at the Faculty of National Security and State Defense of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, which he graduated two years later. In 2017, he was the deputy commander of the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District. In September 2020, he became the commander of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District. In May 2023, he became the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Eastern Military District. From May to November 2024, Sanchik was the acting commander of the Eastern Military District.^[4] In November 2024, he became the commander of the Southern Military District.^[5]

Sanctions

On 2 August 2022, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sanchik was included in Canada's sanctions list of "regime associates" as "involved in the unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the Bucha massacre".^[6][7]

On 13 December 2022, he came under British sanctions for being involved in missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.^[8][9] On 25 February 2023, he was added to the sanctions list of all EU countries for supporting and carrying out actions that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”^[1] For similar reasons, he is under sanctions from Switzerland, Ukraine, Japan and New Zealand.^[10][11][12]