Since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost many of its military generals, as it is far from achieving any military goals on the ground, according to reality on the ground and Western reports. The deaths of these Russian generals were announced by Moscow in separate statements, while Ukraine confirmed their incidents, revealing that some of them had overseen military operations in Syria in recent years.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has resorted to the expertise of senior military commanders who had led Russian military operations in Syria.
The last of them was Alexander Dvornikov, who recently led the war in Ukraine, a Western source told the BBC.
On Saturday, the BBC added that Moscow was reorganizing its military operations in Ukraine, including changing its senior military leadership, by appointing Dvornikov as commander of the military campaign because of his considerable experience in Russian operations in Syria.
Al-Souria Net reviews the most prominent Russian officers who participated in the Russian operation in Syria and were killed in Ukraine sporadically, since February 24th:
Yaakov Rezantsev
Yaakov Rezantsev was born in 1973 in Altai Krai, an autonomous province of Siberia in the Russian Federation.
In 1994, Rezantsev graduated from Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School, named after Soviet Union Marshal Rokossovsky.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, Rezantsev graduated from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with honors in 2022. In 2008, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
In 2018, he took over as the commander of the 41st Army of the Central Military District of Novosibirsk until 2020, when he took over as the commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army in Russia’s southern military district.
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Rizantsev headed the Coordination Center for the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, before being transferred to Ukraine and killed last month, during a Ukrainian bombardment of the Chornobayvka airbase near the city of Kherson.
Vitaly Gerasimov
Born in 1977 in Kazan, the capital and largest city of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, Gerasimov graduated from the Higher Tank School in 1999, before graduating from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2007.
He served in the North Caucasus and the southern and central military districts. He held all military leadership positions until he became chief of staff of the 41st Combined Arms Army.
According to The Guardian, Gerasimov participated in the Second Chechen War, the Russian military operation in Syria, and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Gerasimov was killed on March 7th outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, along with other senior officers on Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said, adding that he was “a veteran of Russian campaigns in Chechnya and Syria.”
Andrey Sokovitsky
Born in 1974, Andrey Sokovitsky graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School in 1995 and made his way from platoon commander to chief of staff of the Guard Air Assault Brigade in 2009.
Sokovitsky was the commander-in-chief of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the 41st Combined Arms Forces of the Russian Ground Forces.
Sokovitsky was awarded a medal for his role in the annexation of Crimea, and was described by the independent newspaper as a “respected paratrooper”.
Sokovitsky was shot dead last month by a sniper, the paper said. The government of the Russian city of Novorossiysk announced his death “while on a combat mission during a special operation in Ukraine.”
Sokovitsky previously served in the Russian army during operations in the North Caucasus region and Syria, the statement said.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
