Andrei Borisovich Kolesnikov (; born 6 February 1977) is a Russian major-general who commanded the

29th Combined Arms Army The 29th Guards Combined Arms Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces and previously the Soviet Army. History 1941–1943 In the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Red Army sustained several painful defeats. The We ...

at the start of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. He was later the deputy commander of the Russian Armed Forces Operational Group in Syria as of 2023.

Biography

Born in

Oktyabrskoye, Voronezh Oblast Oktyabrskoye () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) and the administrative center of Oktyabrskoye Rural Settlement, Povorinsky District, Voronezh Oblast, Russia. The population was 115 as of 2010. T ...

, on 6 February 1977, Kolesnikov graduated from a tank college in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

(1999), the

Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is a military academy in Moscow which provides graduate education for officers of the Russian Armed Forces. The full name reads: ''The Combined Academies Order of Lenin Order ...

(2008), and the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the senior staff college of the Russian Armed Forces. The academy is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane. It was founded in 1936 as a Soviet inst ...

(2020). In 2010, Kolesnikov was a lieutenant colonel and serving as chief of staff of the

4th Guards Tank Division The 4th Guards Tank Division is a Russian Guards, Guards armoured division of the Russian Ground Forces. The division is named after Yuri Andropov. The division has the Military Unit Number 19612 and is one of the key formations of the Moscow Mil ...

. He was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed, in December 2021, the former commander of the

of the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

in the

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Russian Far East. Its administrative center is Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, the population was ...

Invasion of Ukraine

Kolesnikov took part in the

. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

on 11 March 2022.

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

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. However, the Ukrainian claim had not been verified by Western media and Russian sources had not confirmed his death. On 14 March 2023, Kolesnikov appeared in an interview with Vladimir Soloviev on Russian television, reportedly during Soloviev's trip to Syria. "Современная война – война больших траекторий"
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Syria

As of March 2023 Kolesnikov was deputy commander of Russian forces in Syria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolesnikov, Andrei 1977 births Living people People from Povorinsky District Russian major generals Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Siege of Mariupol Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni 20th-century Russian military personnel 21st-century Russian military personnel Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war