Andrei Kolesnikov (general)

Andrei Kolesnikov
Birth name	Andrei Borisovich Kolesnikov
Born	(1977-02-06)6 February 1977
Place of birth	Oktyabrskoye, Voronezh Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russia
Service/branch	Russia Army
Years of service	1998–2022
Rank	Major general
Commands held	29th Combined Arms Army
Battles/wars	Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Siege of Mariupol†

Andrei Borisovich Kolesnikov (Russian: Андрей Борисович Колесников; 6 February 1977) is a Russian major-general (one-star rank) who according to Ukraine was killed in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kolesnikov's death has not been confirmed by the Russian Federation.

Biography

Born in Oktyabrskoye, Voronezh Oblast, on 6 February 1977, Kolesnikov graduated from a tank college in Kazan (1999), the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2008), and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (2020). In 2010, Kolesnikov was a lieutenant colonel and serving as chief of staff of the 4th Guards Tank Division. He was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed, in December 2021, the commander of the 29th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District in the Zabaykalsky Krai.

Invasion of Ukraine

Kolesnikov took part in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed in Mariupol on 11 March 2022. NATO officials confirmed that a Russian commander from Russia's eastern military district became the third Russian general officer to be killed in the hostilities (after Andrei Sukhovetsky and Vitaly Gerasimov), but did not specify his name. However, the Ukrainian claim has not been verified by Western media and Russian sources have not confirmed this death.

See also

• List of Russian generals killed during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine