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Western Military District

For the Soviet counterpart, see Belorussian Military District. For the Swedish one, see Western Military District (Sweden).
Western Military District
Западный военный округ
Emblem of the Western Military District
Active20 October 2010–26 February 2024
Country Russia
Branch Russian Armed Forces
Part ofMinistry of Defence
HeadquartersGeneral Staff Building, Saint Petersburg
DecorationsOrder of Lenin Order of Lenin
WebsiteOfficial website
Commanders
Final CommanderColonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov
Insignia
Flag
  The Western Military District, on a map of the five Russian military districts
Russian Armed Forces
Staff
Services (vid)
Independent troops (rod)
Special operations force (sof)
Other troops
Military districts
History of the Russian military
Western Military District HQ at the Saint Petersburg General Staff Building

The Western Military District (Russian: Западный военный округ, romanized: Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) was a 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 Military District and Leningrad Military District.[1]

It was one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the western central region of European Russia. The Western Military District was created as part of the 2008 military reforms, and founded by Presidential Decree №1144 signed on 20 September 2010, as an amalgamation of the Moscow Military District, Leningrad Military District and Kaliningrad Special Region.[2] The district began operation on 20 October 2010, under the command of Colonel-General Valery Gerasimov. General Lieutenant Roman Berdnikov took over command on 3 October 2022,[3] but two further command changes would take place by the end of the year, under the pressure of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Western Military District was the second smallest military district in Russia by geographic size. The district contained 26 federal subjects of Russia: Belgorod Oblast, Bryansk Oblast, Ivanovo Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Karelia, Kostroma Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Saint Petersburg, Smolensk Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Tver Oblast, Tula Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, Vologda Oblast, Voronezh Oblast, Yaroslavl Oblast. On 1 December 2014, the Arctic Joint Strategic Command was split off from the Western Military District, removing Arkhangelsk Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Komi Republic, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet and Northern Fleet, from the district's command.[4][5]

The Western Military District was headquartered in the General Staff Building in Saint Petersburg.

The Western Military District, until its abolishment in February 2024, was led by Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, who was previously Chief of Staff of the Eastern Military District.[6]

Military units of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Border Troops of the FSB, as well as units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Russia) and other ministries and departments of the Russian Federation performing tasks on the territory of the district are under its operational subordination.[7]

History

The Western Military District, "with about 300,000 troops, was formed in 2010 from the Moscow and Leningrad" Military Districts.[8] When the Moscow and Leningrad Districts were merged, the Russian soldiers in Transnistria, the former Soviet 14th Guards Combined Arms Army, became part of the Western Military District. Of the 1,700 Russian Armed Forces soldiers in Transnistria by 2022, military sources in Chișinău said that only 70-100 were actually Russians; the rest were Transnistrians who were given contracts to serve in the Russian Armed Forces.[9]

During the 2008–2012 military reform, the area of the Western Military District received the largest reduction in units and personnel. The number of motor rifle and tank battalions in the former Moscow Military District was reduced from 50 to 22.[10]

On 26 February 2014, during the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Armed Forces to be "put on alert in the Western Military District as well as units stationed with the 2nd Army Central Military District Command involved in aerospace defense, airborne troops and long-range military transport." Despite media speculation it was for in reaction to the events in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said it was unrelated to the unrest in Ukraine.[11]

After a 15-year hiatus, the 1st Guards Tank Army headquarters was reformed within the district in November 2014.[12]

In April 2017, the Defence Ministry reported that the 14th Army Corps had been transferred to the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command.[13] It appears that this army corps, formed with its number in view of the Second World War actions of the Soviet 14th Army, includes the 80th Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade and the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade.

In the September Zapad 2017 exercise, a significant portion of troops from the Western Military District numbering 12,700 personnel were involved in Belarus, the Kaliningrad Region and Russia's other north-western areas as well.

A December 2018 Russian Ministry of Defense press release said that an independent Spetsnaz company had been formed in a combined arms army of the district.[14]

Almost the whole forces of the district became involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, suffering considerable losses (see Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War). A new army corps, the 3rd Army Corps, then began forming within the district. The 3rd Army Corps' main base and training centre was identified by Ukraine in August 2022 as being located in Mulino, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.[15] The new 72nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, intended to form part of the 3rd Army Corps, was reported by Penza Oblast authorities to be forming at Totskoye, Orenburg Oblast.[16]

Much of the Russian Airborne Forces is located within the district's boundaries but not under its command. These forces include the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (Kubinka, Moscow); the 76th Guards Air Assault Division (Pskov); the 98th Guards Airborne Division (Ivanovo); the 106th Guards Airborne Division (Tula), and the VDV signals regiment, the 38th Airborne Signal Regiment (n. Bear Lake, Moscow Oblast). In addition, there are two formations of the Russian Aerospace Forces within the district's boundaries but under central command: the 1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defense Army (Moscow SAM and ABM defences) and 15th Special Aerospace Forces Army [ru] (space operations, the former Russian Space Command).

The Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine) of the Ministry of Defence (Ukraine) on 26 December 2022 that General Yevgeny Nikiforov was appointed as commander, Western Military District, and commander of the Russian western grouping of forces in Ukraine.[17] He had been transferred from the post of first deputy commander, Eastern Military District. In this transfer, Colonel-General Sergey Kuzovlev was removed from the position of commander of the troops of the Western Military District, after having only been in post for about a month.[6] "The reason for Kuzovlev's dismissal was the failure of preparations for an offensive in the Lyman [area], but [Ukrainian intelligence assessed it also as a] internal political struggle.. because from the Shoigu-Gerasimov orbit changing for a candidate from the Surovikin-Prygozhin group.[6]

Formations and units

Russia's Comprehensive Security System Center in Saint Petersburg

Direct reporting units and formations

Muzyka 2020 lists a total of 21 direct reporting units and formations, but does not include the OGRF in Moldova, but does include Land Forces Command HQ, Moscow, and Joint Strategic Command - West at St Petersburg.

Muzkya 2020 does not include the:

1st Guards Tank Army

Main article: 1st Guards Tank Army

HQ: Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast (reinstated 2014)[12]

6th Combined Arms Army

Main article: 6th Combined Arms Army

HQ: Saint Petersburg

20th Guards Combined Arms Army

Main article: 20th Guards Combined Arms Army
The bands of the Western Military District in their various uniforms.

HQ: Voronezh, Voronezh Oblast[18]

Intelligence/Spetsnaz units and formations

Aerospace Forces

Russian Aerospace Forces - Not Subordinate to Western Military District

Neither of these Russian Aerospace Forces armies are subordinated to the Western Military District.

  • 1st Air Defence and Missile Defence Army (air defence of Moscow)[26]
    • 4th Air Defence Division
      • 584th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Mar'ino - S-300PM SAMs)
      • 210th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Dubrovki - S-400/Pantsir SAMs)
      • 93rd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Fun'kovo - S-400/S-300/Pantsir SAMs)
      • 612th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Krasnoznamensk - S-300 SAMs)
    • 202nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Naro-Fominsk - S-300 SAMs)
    • 5th Air Defence Division
      • 549th Ant-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Il'inskoye - S-400/Pantsir SAMs)
      • 614th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Pestovo - S-300 SAMs)
      • 629th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Elektrostal - S-300 SAMs)
      • 606th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Elektrostal - S-400/S-300/Pantsir SAMs)
    • 9th Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Division (A-135 anti-ballistic missile system)[46]
  • 15th Special Aerospace Forces Army (Moscow-based special Command of Russian Aerospace forces and responsible for cosmodromes and space-monitoring stations) reportedly receiving S-500 SAM/ABM system as of summer 2021[47][48][49]

Leadership

Commanders

Chiefs of Staff - First Deputy Commanders

See also

References

  1. ^ Путин подписал указ о новом составе военных округов. ria.ru (in Russian). 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  2. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 20 сентября 2010 года № 1144 "О военно-административном делении Российской Федерации"". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
  3. ^ "Russia sacks commander of Western military district - reports". 2022-10-03.
  4. ^ "В России создано новое стратегическое командование". Российская газета (in Russian). 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  5. ^ "Северный флот возьмет Арктику под постоянный контроль". Российская газета (in Russian). 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  6. ^ a b c Zubkova, Dasha (26 December 2022). "Russia Appoints New Commander Of Troops Of Western Military District - Defense Intelligence". Ukrainian News Agency. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Западный военный округ". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  8. ^ Dyner, Anna Maria (13 June 2016). "Russia Beefs Up Military Potential in the Country's Western Areas". Polish Institute of International Affairs.
  9. ^ Necșuțu, Mădălin (July 22, 2022). "Moldova Defends Action, Blocking Russian Troop Rotation in Transnistria". Balkan Insight. Chișinău.
  10. ^ Barabanov, Mikhail (18 December 2014). "Testing a "New Look"". Russia in Global Affairs.
  11. ^ Alpert, Lukas I. (27 February 2014). "Russia Orders Military Exercises Amid Ukraine Tension". The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ a b ВЗГЛЯД 2015.
  13. ^ bmpd (2017-04-22). "В составе объединенного стратегического командования "Север" сформирован 14-й армейский корпус". bmpd. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  14. ^ "В состав общевойсковой армии ЗВО вошло подразделение специального назначения" [Spetsnaz unit included in Western Military District combined arms army] (in Russian). Press Service of the Western Military District. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Russia forming 3rd Army Corps for war in Ukraine – ISW". 6 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Олег Мельниченко напутствовал направленных в именные подразделения добровольцев". Пенза-Обзор - новости Пензы и Пензенской области (in Russian). 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  17. ^ Kateryna Stepanenko; Karolina Hird; George Barros; Frederick W. Kagan. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 26 [2022]".
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Institute for the Study of War 2018.
  19. ^ a b c Muzyka 2020, p. 27.
  20. ^ Galeotti 2017, p. 30.
  21. ^ Muzyka 2020, p. 26.
  22. ^ Muzyka 2020, p. 24.
  23. ^ Ramm, Alexey; Andreev, Evgeny (22 September 2017). "Минобороны вернуло "надувной" полк". Izvestia. Inews. Retrieved 20 December 2017. and "The Russian Camouflage Regiment". OE Watch. 07 (10): 20–21. November 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  24. ^ "Аналіз запасів танків РФ на базах зберігання за Уралом". Мілітарний (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  25. ^ "Две новые дивизии ЗВО и ЮВО полностью обустроят в мае 2017 года". РИА Новости (in Russian). 11 November 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Russian Military Forces: Interactive Map".
  27. ^ "Войсковая часть 54607 (16-я ОБрСпецНаза)". 16 November 2015.
  28. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 77, 1 March - 7 March 2021".
  29. ^ "Baltic Fleet to set up new division in response to NATO's build-up near Russian borders".
  30. ^ a b c "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 81, 29 March - 9 May 2021".
  31. ^ a b "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 82, 10 May - 23 May 2021".
  32. ^ "Танковый полк Балтфлота привлечён к манёврам в Калининградской области -".
  33. ^ Maria Domańska, Szymon Kardaś, Marek Menkiszak, Jadwiga Rogoża, Andrzej Wilk, Iwona Wiśniewska, Piotr Żochowski (2019-11-07). "Fortress Kaliningrad: Ever Closer to Moscow". OSW Centre for Eastern Studies. pp. 73, 76. Retrieved 2022-09-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "Russia increases number of tanks in Kaliningrad". 28 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Russia adds firepower to Kaliningrad exclave citing NATO threat". Reuters. 7 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 72, 25 January - 31 January 2021".
  37. ^ "Russian Airborne forces receive Sobolyatnik portable radar | June 2020 News Defense Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army 2020 | Archive News year".
  38. ^ "В тылу сражений: Калининград защитят сверхдальние разведчики". 10 March 2021.
  39. ^ "Baltic Fleet's Tor-M2 missile systems down maneuvering fast-speed targets in drills".
  40. ^ a b c "A look at the Baltic Fleet and the defense of Kaliningrad". 6 April 2020.
  41. ^ "Modernized Artillery for Russian Forces in Kaliningrad". 2 October 2019.
  42. ^ "Russian Forces in Kaliningrad: Implications of the newly formed 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division". 22 March 2021.
  43. ^ "Побережье России прикрыли "ракетные монстры"". 7 January 2018.
  44. ^ "Russian Air Force - Today".
  45. ^ "Russia strengthens its forces on the Baltic Sea". 30 January 2018.
  46. ^ "Missile Defense Becomes Part of Great Power Competition". U.S. Department of Defense.
  47. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 99, 13 September - 19 September 2021".
  48. ^ "First regiment of S-500 air defense systems to defend Moscow — source".
  49. ^ "Files" (PDF). wsb.edu.pl.
  50. ^ Milenin, Andrei (20 September 2016). "Александр Дворников назначен командующим войсками ЮВО" [Aleksandr Dvornikov appointed commander of the Southern Military District]. Isvestia (in Russian). Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  51. ^ "Бывший командующий российскими войсками в Сирии возглавил Западный военный округ" (in Russian). Kommersant. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  52. ^ a b "Ukraine-Niederlagen trotz brutalem Vorgehen – Putin schasst wohl nächsten Top-General". 29 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  53. ^ Mironenko, Dmitry (5 September 2022). "Цимбалюк назвал топ-генералов российской армии, которые полетели со своих должностей из-за Украины". Dialog.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  54. ^ Karolina Hird, Kateryna Stepanenko, Riley Bailey, Katherine Lawlor, and Frederick W. Kagan (2022-10-03). "RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, OCTOBER 3".{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  55. ^ "Russia Appoints New Commander Of Troops Of Western Military District - Defense Intelligence". Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  56. ^ "Адмирал Николай Максимов назначен начштаба Западного военного округа". Российская газета (in Russian). 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2024-01-24.

References

59°56′17″N 30°19′02″E / 59.9381°N 30.3172°E / 59.9381; 30.3172

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