Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev (; born 14 January 1976) is a Russian

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

who has been

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces (Russian: Главнокомандующий Сухопутными войсками России) is the chief commanding authority of the Russian Ground Forces. He is appointed by the Preside ...

since 2025. He previously commanded the

Central Military District The Order of the Red Banner Central Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the centr ...

and the "Center" group of forces during 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 ...

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 The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Republic People's Militia) and the Ukrainian ...

during that time. For his achievements he was awarded the title

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

in 2024.

Early life and prewar service

Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev was born on 14 January 1976 in

Pavlodar Pavlodar (; ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located northeast of the national capital Astana and southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. In 2010, the city had a popul ...

Kazakh SSR The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...

(present day

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

). He graduated from the

Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School The Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School () is a Russian higher military school conducting commissioned officer programmes (specialitet). It is located in Akademgorodok of Novosibirsk. History The School was founded in 1967 as Novosibirsk ...

in 1997 and the Combined Arms Academy in 2006. In 2010 he was deputy commander of the

5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade named after Alexander Zakharchenko, A. V. Zakharchenko (), also known as the Oplot Brigade ( Stronghold Brigade), is a military unit of Russian Ground Forces. Until January 1, 2023, it was part of the se ...

with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Mordvichev commanded the 4th Separate Guards Tank Brigade from 2011 and the 28th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in 2014. He was promoted to major general on 12 June 2013. 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 The 41st Guards Combined Arms Army () is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, currently part of the Central Military District. Originally, it was formed in 1942 as part of the Soviet Red Army, during World War II. It was reformed in 1998, wh ...

. In 2019 he was appointed chief of staff of the

8th Combined Arms Army The 8th Guards Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was formed in 2017. Military Unit в/ч 61877. ...

of the

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

. Mordvichev was appointed army commander in 2021.

Russo-Ukrainian War

He commanded the army during the

, where Ukrainian sources falsely claimed he was killed in an 18 March airstrike on an airfield in Chornobaivka. 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. However, Mordvichev's claimed death was not confirmed by Russian sources, and on 28 March, Russian television broadcast images that showed

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

meeting Mordvichev 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 ...

. Later in 2022, Mordvichev was appointed deputy commander of the

. Since 17 February 2023, he has commanded Russia's

, having replaced the promoted Colonel-General Aleksandr Lapin due to the previous territorial losses during the

2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive On September 6, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive against the Russian military during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As Ukraine announced the start of the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, Kherson counteroffensi ...

. As of April 2023 he is commander of the Center Grouping of Forces in Ukraine. On September 7, Mordvichev was promoted to colonel general by a presidential decree. According to an interview he gave at the end of July 2023 with the state-run

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

television channel, Mordvichev views the invasion of Ukraine as a mere "stepping stone" to further conflict with Eastern Europe. In February 2024, Mordvichev was congratulated by president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

for capturing Avdiivka as the commander-in-charge. In May 2025, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces.

Decorations

Mordvichev has received the following decorations: *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

Order of Zhukov The Order of Zhukov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation. The order is named in honour of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974). History The Order of Zhukov was established by Presidential Decree 930 of May ...

* Order of Courage * Order of Military Merit *

Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a Russian medal. It was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 January 1999 by Presidential Decree 19 and again on 7 September 201 ...

, 2nd class *

Medal of Suvorov The "Medal of Suvorov" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded to ground troops for courage in combat. It is named in honour of Russian field marshal Count Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Medal of Suvorov was est ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mordvichev, Andrey 1974 births Living people Russian colonel generals Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Russian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine People from Pavlodar Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Heroes of the Russian Federation Commanders-in-chief of the Russian Army