Andrei Dmitrievich Simonov (; born 29 June 1966) is a

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

major general (

one-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

) serving as Chief of the Electronic Warfare Troops of the 2nd Army of the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

. On 30 April 2022, the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

claimed to have killed Simonov in an artillery strike. His death has yet to be confirmed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n officials.

Biography

Andrei Dmitrievich Simonov was born on 29 June 1966, in Baranovka,

Verkhnekamsky District Verkhnekamsky District () is an administrativeLaw #203-ZO and municipalLaw #284-ZO district (raion), one of the thirty-nine in Kirov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative cent ...

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast ( rus, Кировская область, p=ˈkʲirəfskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. As of the 2010 census, the population ...

. In 1987, he graduated from the Tomsk Higher Military Command School of Communications and began his service in the Electronic Warfare troops. Here he worked as an operational duty officer, a

platoon commander A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. ...

, a command post leader, and a deputy battalion commander. In 2000 he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

, and was promoted from a senior officer of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

's electronic warfare service to head of the Vostok regional command headquarters' electronic warfare service. In 2010, he graduated from the General Staff Academy and was appointed Chief of the Electronic Security Service of the

of the Russian Federation. By 2011, he had been promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Since 2014, he has been Deputy Chief of the Electronic Warfare Troops of the Russian Armed Forces. Simonov was promoted to major general in 2016.

Alleged death

Major General Andrei Simonov was reported as killed in a

Grad missile The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

artillery strike carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 30 April 2022, during the larger

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 ...

. This strike was allegedly carried out against a field command post of the Russian 2nd Army near

Izium Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...

, during the battle of Donbas. News of the Major General's death was first reported by the ''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

'' when Ukrainian Presidential military adviser

Oleksiy Arestovych Oleksii Mykolaiovych Arestovych (; born 3 August 1975) is a Ukrainian political adviser, former military officer, and columnist. He is also a theologian and the founder of the Apeiron School. Arestovych was a speaker for the Trilateral Contact G ...

claimed in an interview the attack had killed Simonov, approximately 100 Russian troops, and destroyed 30 armoured vehicles. Ukrainian politician Anton Gerashchenko would affirm Simonov's death in a

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

post. Russia has not yet confirmed Simonov's death. ''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' have reported that the artillery strike was not intended to target Simonov but rather General

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (born 8 September 1955) is a Russian Army general (Russia), army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff (Russia), Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Ministry of Defen ...

, who was present at the command post not long before the attack. Intel of Gerasimov's location was believed to have been provided by the United States and the intention of the attack was confirmed by anonymous United States officials.

Awards

* Medal " For Valor" Ist degree

Works

* Perspective Control System for Electronic Warfare Forces -The Basis for Realizing the Combat Capabilities of Different Forces and Equipment. ()

References

External links