Administrative chain of command

Commanders of the various MOD armed services and branches do not have operational control over the forces. They are responsible for force development and generation. The Chiefs of the ground forces, the aerospace forces, the navy, the strategic missile forces and the airborne forces also hold the appointments of Deputy Ministers of Defence, junior to the Chief of the General Staff, who is the First Deputy Minister of Defence.

The General Staff commands and controls forces through the National Defence Management Centre (NDMC). Operational control of the forces is carried out by the five Operational-Strategic Commands - the Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Military Districts and the OSK Northern Fleet, which is their equal. The Western and the Southern Military Districts share borders with Ukraine and are directly involved in the command and control of the operations.

Pre-2022 Russian military doctrine had specified that on the outbreak of war, armed forces from non-MOD services (like Rosgvardiya) would be placed under the General Staff.^[1]

Initial force groupings

Ukrainian military commentator Yuri Butusov listed the following initial March 2022 deployment of Russian/allied forces:^[13]

Southwestern Belarus grouping (blocking contingent against Ukrainian forces in Western Ukraine):

• located around Brest, Luninets, Baranovichi, Osipovichi and Minsk
• including forces from the Northern Fleet (200th (Arctic) Motor Rifle Brigade, 61st Guards Naval Infantry Brigade) and the VDV (76th and 98th Guards airborne divisions), estimated strength of 6–7 battalion tactical groups

Southeastern Belarus grouping (Kyiv offensive direction):

• located around Vepri, Elsin, Bragin, Khainini, Rechitsya and Mozir
• including forces from the 5th, 35th and 36th Combined Arms Armies, estimated strength of 7–9 battalion tactical groups

Bryansk grouping (Chernihiv offensive direction):

• located around Klimovo, Klintsi, Pochep and Sevsk
• including forces from the 41st Combined Arms Army and the 90th Guards Tank Division, estimated strength of 3 battalion tactical groups

Kursk – Belgorod grouping (Sumy offensive direction):

• located around Tomarovka, Vesela Lopan', Zorino, Pristen', Kursk and Belgorod
• including forces from the 6th and 20th combined arms armies, estimated strength of 4 battalion tactical groups

Voronezh grouping (Kharkiv offensive direction):

• located around Stariy Oskol, Soloti, Valuyki, Boguchar, Pogonovo and Voronezh
• including forces from the 6th Tank and 20th combined arms armies, estimated strength of 13–14 battalion tactical groups

Smolensk grouping (operational reserve of the northern front)

• located around Yel'nya
• including forces from the 20th and 41st combined arms armies, estimated strength of 6–7 battalion tactical groups

Rostov grouping (Donbas and eastern Sea of Azov offensive direction)

• located around Rostov-on-the-Don and Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy
• including forces from the 8th Combined Arms Army, estimated strength of 6 battalion tactical groups
• Ukraine says the 8th CAA has operational control over the Donetsk People's Republic People's Militia and the Luhansk People's Republic People's Militia, naming them the Russian 1st and 2nd Army Corps

Crimea grouping (southern Ukraine offensive direction):

• located around the Crimean Peninsula (Slavne, Dzhankoy, Novoozerne, Yevpatoriya, Sevastopol, Oktyabrskoye, Bakhchisaray, Angarskiy, Feodosiya, Opuk)
• including forces from the 58th Combined Arms Army and the Black Sea Fleet's 22nd Army Corps (810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade), estimated strength of up to 13 battalion tactical groups

Kuban grouping (operational reserve of the southern front)

• located around the Kuban Peninsula (Novorossiysk, Korenovsk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar, Mol'kino and Maykop) and Stavropol
• including forces from the 49th Combined Arms Army, the Black Sea Fleet's 22nd Army Corps and the VDV's 7th Guards (Mountain) Air Assault Division, estimated strength of 6 battalion tactical groups

Russian leaders 2022-23

Despite evolving Russian doctrine which specified all troops and forces operating from one Operational-Strategic Command (OSK) be placed under one commander, multiple repeated sources (Rochan Consulting, Center for Naval Analysis, British Ministry of Defence) reported that separate groupings of forces drawn from each of the four military districts, under the leadership of senior personnel from that military district, took part in the initial invasion.^[14] President Vladimir Putin was repeatedly reported as taking a very involved stance, sometimes giving orders to field formations.^[15]

In April 2022, the invasion began to run into setbacks; Russian forces were forced to withdraw from their attempt to take Kyiv. Therefore to handle a longer war, a single coordinating senior officer was appointed.

• Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov (8 April 2022 – 25 June 2022): placed in overall charge of military operations in Ukraine, effectively ending the grouping system;^[16]
• Colonel General Gennady Zhidko (26 June 2022 – 7 October 2022): appointed by Vladimir Putin to the top position, replacing Dvornikov;^[16]
• Army General Sergey Surovikin (8 October 2022 – 11 January 2023): previously commander of the Aerospace Forces and Army Group South, replacing Zhidko in overall command.^[17]

Mercenaries

• Wagner Group (Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Utkin †)^[23][24]
  • DShRG Rusich (Commander: Alexey Milchakov)^[25]
• Gazpromneft Security^[26]
  • Fakel^[27]
  • Plamya^[27]
• Patriot^[28]
• Redut^[29][30]
  • Don Brigade^[31]
  • Potok Battalion^[27]
  • Veterany Battalion^[31]
• Tsar's Wolves^[32]
• Uran^[33]
• E.N.O.T. Corp. (Commander: Igor Mangushev †)^[34]

Militias

• Storm Ossetia (Commander: Ayvengo Tekhov †)^[35]
• Alania Battalion^[36]
• Hispaniola Battalion^[37]
• Vladlen Tatarsky Battalion^[38]

Reserve units of the Russian Armed Forces

• BARS

Chechens

• Kadyrovites (Head: Colonel General Ramzan Kadyrov)
  • 141st Motorised National Guard Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Magomed Tushayev)^[39][40]
    • North Battalion^[41]
  • Akhmat Special Forces^[42]
  • 78th Motor Rifle Regiment (Sever-Akhmat) subordinate to the 42nd Motorised Rifle Division, 58th Combined Arms Army^[43]

Spetsnaz units

Clear evidence as to which Grouping of Forces these brigades belong to is not readily available.

• 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Colonel Konstantin Bushuev)^[44]
• 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade^[45]
• 10th Spetsnaz Brigade^[46]
• 14th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Colonel Sergey Polyakov †)^[47] (formerly Lieutenant Colonel Albert Karimov †)^[48][49]
• 16th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Deputy Commander Major Dmitri Vladimirovich Semenov †)^[50]
• 24th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade^[51]
• 346th Spetsnaz Brigade of the Russian Special Operations Forces^[52][53]

Units returned to Russia:

• 22nd Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade returned to Russia to reconstitute in 2022 following major losses.^[52] The unit was then redeployed to Ukraine, suffering losses around Melitopol in March of 2023.^[54]

Joint Group of Forces