Andrei Kolesnikov (general)

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

Andrei Borisovich Kolesnikov (Russian: Андрей Борисович Колесников;^[1] born 6 February 1977) is a Russian major-general who commanded the 29th Combined Arms Army at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was later the deputy commander of the Russian Armed Forces Operational Group in Syria as of 2023.^[2]

Andrei Kolesnikov
Birth name	Andrei Borisovich Kolesnikov
Born	(1977-02-06) 6 February 1977 (age 47) Oktyabrskoye, Voronezh Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russia
Service / branch	Russian Ground Forces
Years of service	1999–
Rank	Major general
Commands	29th Combined Arms Army
Battles / wars	Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine Siege of Mariupol Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war

Biography

Born in Oktyabrskoye, Voronezh Oblast, on 6 February 1977, Kolesnikov graduated from a tank college in Kazan (1999), the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2008), and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (2020). In 2010, Kolesnikov was a lieutenant colonel and serving as chief of staff of the 4th Guards Tank Division.^[1] He was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed, in December 2021, the former^[3][4] commander of the 29th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District in the Zabaykalsky Krai.^[5]

Invasion of Ukraine

Kolesnikov took part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed in Mariupol on 11 March 2022.^[6] NATO officials confirmed that a Russian commander from Russia's eastern military district became the second Russian general officer to be killed in the hostilities (after Andrei Sukhovetsky), but did not specify his name.^[7] However, the Ukrainian claim had not been verified by Western media and Russian sources had not confirmed his death.^[8] On 14 March 2023, Kolesnikov appeared in an interview with Vladimir Soloviev on Russian television, reportedly during Soloviev's trip to Syria.^[9]

Syria

As of March 2023 Kolesnikov was deputy commander of Russian forces in Syria.^[2]

References

1. Yermolin, Anatoly (11 September 2010). "Андрей Колесников — Военный совет" [Andrei Kolesnikov - Military Council] (in Russian). Эхо Москвы [Echo of Moscow]. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014.
2. "Соловьев рассказал о поездке в Сирию" [Solovyov told about his trip to Syria]. Vesti.ru (in Russian). 14 March 2023.
3. "Генерал-майор Александр Игнатенко принял участие в церемонии прощания со знаменем ДВОКУ : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". ens.mil.ru. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
4. "В ДВОКУ сменилось руководство. Прежний начальник торжественно простился с училищем (фоторепортаж)".
5. Прокофьев, Семён (7 December 2021). "Новый командующий общевойсковым объединением ВВО назначен в Забайкалье" [The new commander of the combined-arms formation of the VVO was appointed in Transbaikalia]. Чита.ру (in Russian). Retrieved 11 March 2022.
6. "Украинские защитники уничтожили командующего росармии - Геращенко" [Ukrainian defenders destroyed (killed?) the commander of the Russian Army - Gerashchenko]. Интерфакс-Украина (in Russian). 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
7. "Death of Russian general confirmed by Western officials". BBC News. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
8. "Deaths of generals expose Russia's troubles in Ukraine". France24. 28 March 2022.
9. "Современная война – война больших траекторий"

Military offices
Preceded by Roman Berdnikov	Commander of the 29th Combined Arms Army 2021–2022	Succeeded by Aleksandr Ignatenko
Preceded by Sergey Kombarov	Commander of the 4th Guards Tank Division 2011–2012	Succeeded by Vladimir Zavadsky
Preceded by ??	Chief of Staff of the 4th Guards Tank Division 2010–2011	Succeeded by ??