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Vitaly Gerasimov

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Vitaly Gerasimov
Виталий Петрович Герасимов
Gerasimov in 2026
Born
Vitaly Pyetrovich Gerasimov

(1977-07-09) 9 July 1977 (age 49)
Kazan, Tatar ASSR, Soviet Union
Military career
AllegianceRussia
Branch
Russian Ground Forces
Service years
1995–present
Rank
Major general
Commands36th Guards Combined Arms Army
Conflicts

Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov (Russian: Виталий Петрович Герасимов; born 9 July 1977[1]) is a Russian Ground Forces major general (one-star rank), the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.

On 7 March 2022, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence announced that Gerasimov was killed in Kharkiv Oblast during the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[2][3] but Gerasimov was confirmed to be alive by BBC Russian when he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 23 May 2022.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov was born on 9 July 1977 in Kazan.[6] Gerasimov graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School in 1999 and from the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2007.[1][7]

Military career

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Gerasimov fought in the Second Chechen War (1999–2000). From 2007 to 2010, he commanded a motor-rifle battalion in the North Caucasus Military District. In October 2013, as a colonel, he was assigned as commander of the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (Peacekeeping).[6]

He was awarded campaign medals for participating in the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the Russian military operation in Syria (from 2015).[2][8] In June 2016, he was promoted to the rank of major-general.[9]

Gerasimov was claimed by Ukrainian authorities to have been killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 7 March 2022 near Kharkiv, along with several other senior Russian officials.[2][10][11] The Ukrainian defence ministry offered no proof, and US officials and CNN were not able to verify the claim.[12] The Netherlands-based open-source intelligence (OSINT) fact-checking group Bellingcat said it had confirmed the death by accessing a Ukrainian intercept of Russian communications, as well as by means of "a Russian source".[11][13] The Guardian newspaper reported on 8 March that the Ukrainian defence department "broadcast what it claimed was a conversation between two Russian FSB officers discussing the death and complaining that their secure communications were no longer functioning inside Ukraine".[8] Gerasimov was later seen alive when he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 23 May.[5] He was later appointed commander of the 36th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District.[14] On 10 June 2024, he was introduced to the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, as the new commander of the Higher Tank Command School in Kazan.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Назначения в Вооруженных Силах России [Appointments in the Armed Forces of Russia] (PDF). Российское военное обозрение [Russian Military Review] (in Russian). 9 (185). Russian Ministry of Defence: 78. September 2019. ISSN 0134-921X. OCLC 913825191. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Massie, Graeme (7 March 2022). "Ukraine claims it has killed another Russian general during fighting in Kharkiv". The Independent. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  3. ↑ Під Харковом ліквідовано генерал-майора російської армії [A major general of the Russian army was liquidated near Kharkiv]. Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (in Ukrainian and English). Government of Ukraine. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  4. ↑ Smirnova, Yuliana (23 May 2022). Воскрес "убитый" генерал ВС РФ Герасимов. Pravda.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 Груз 200: что известно о потерях России в Украине к середине июня. BBC News Russian. 10 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 Полковник Виталий Герасимов назначен командиром самарских миротворцев [Colonel Vitaly Gerasimov appointed commander of Samara peacekeepers]. Новости Волги (Volga News) (in Russian). 21 October 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Komaxidze, Irakli (19 November 2017). "Commanders of 15th MRB ready to carry out Kremlin's criminal orders". InformNapalm.org. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 Borger, Julian (8 March 2022). "Vitaly Gerasimov: second Russian general killed, Ukraine defence ministry claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11 June 2016 г. № 276 [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 11, 2016 No. 276]. President of Russia (in Russian). Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Ukraine: Russian general killed near Kharkiv, say defenders". BBC News. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  11. 1 2 Bowman, Verity (8 March 2022). "Second Russian general killed on the battlefield as 'demoralised' troops suffer heavy losses". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  12. ↑ Picheta, Rob; Guy, Jack (9 March 2022). "Ukraine claims Russian general has been killed in Kharkiv". CNN. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Martin, Alexander (8 March 2022). "Russians reportedly take out own secure communications system during Kharkiv assault". Sky News. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Виталий Герасимов биография". www.tatar-inform.ru. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "«Для училища это честь»: Казанское танковое возглавил боевой генерал". Новости Татарстана и Казани - Республика Татарстан | РТ Онлайн (in Russian). Retrieved 3 April 2026.
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