Russian Federation President Putin has promoted Lieutenant General Andrey Mordichev to Colonel-General.
Mordichev now will stand at the same rank as the commanders of the Western and Southern Military Districts, most likely not due to exemplary service in his role as the commander of the Central Grouping of Forces. However, it is worth noting that Colonel-General Lapin was promoted shortly before being relieved due to the Russian loss of Lyman during the Kharkiv counter offensive. Mordichev’s forces are primarily engaged in the ZaporizhzhiaOblast where Ukrainian troops may breach the third line of Russian defenses.
Mordichev cut his teeth as a battlion commander in both the Donbass War and Syria. He then commanded during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Ukrainian sources (falsely) claimed he was killed in an 18 March airstrike on an airfield in Chornobaivka. However, on 28 March, Russian television broadcast images that showed Ramzan Kadyrov meeting Mordvichev in Mariupol.
Later in 2022, Mordvichev was appointed deputy commander of the Southern Military District. Since 17 February 2023, he has commanded Russia’s Central Military District, having replaced the promoted Colonel-General Aleksandr Lapin due to the previous territorial losses during the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. As of April 2023 he is commander of the Center Grouping of Forces in Ukraine. (wiki)
