Oleg Yuryevich Mityaev (; (born c. 1974) is a Russian

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

who according to Ukrainian officials was killed 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 ...

on 15 March 2022. His death, however, has not been confirmed, and in December 2024 it was revealed that he is alive and still in service. Since May 2024, he is also commander of the

20th Guards Combined Arms Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...

Biography

From 2013 to 2015 Mityaev was commander of the

11th Guards Air Assault Brigade The 11th Separate Guards Air Assault Orders of Suvorov and Zhukov Brigade is an air assault brigade of the Russian Airborne Forces, currently based at Sosnovy Bor near Ulan Ude in Buryatia. The brigade was first formed in 1968 as the 11th Separa ...

. Between December 2016 and November 2018 he ran the

Russian 201st Military Base The Russian 201st Military Base (; ) is a Russian military base based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, part of the Central Military District. It was originally raised twice in World War II as part of the Soviet Union's Red Army and is now part of the ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. He was one of the leaders of the Russian intervention in Syria. From 2020 Mityaev was the commander of Russia's

150th Motor Rifle Division The 150th Guards Motor Rifle Berlin-Idritsa Order of Kutuzov Division () of the Russian Ground Forces is a motorized rifle division that was re-instituted in 2016. It is part of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, which was reformed in 2017, in ...

. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed in a Ukrainian ambush while taking part in a "combat mission" (according to Russian reports) during 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 ...

at the

Illich Steel and Iron Works Illich Iron & Steel Works ( Ukrainian: Маріу́польський металургі́йний комбіна́т і́мені Ілліча́ – literally "Mariupol Metallurgical Plant named after Illich") is the second largest metallurgic ...

during the

, reportedly by the

Azov Regiment The 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" () is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion (), ...

. According to the Ukrainians, he was the fourth Russian general killed during the 2022 invasion. Western sources believe 20 major-generals were deployed to Ukraine. On 9 December 2024 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

References

1974 births Living people People from Orenburg Russian major generals Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Siege of Mariupol {{russia-mil-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References