Andrey Sukhovetsky

Andrey Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky was a Russian major general who was killed in action during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biography

Sukhovetsky was born on 25 June 1974.

He graduated from the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School in 1995, and initially served as a platoon commander before gradually rising in the ranks.

The Independent described him as "respected paratrooper". He served in military operations in the North Caucasus, including in Chechnya, and fought in Abkhazia during the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

 In the following year, he graduated from the Combined Arms Academy.

Sukhovetsky was decorated for his role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 and subsequently also participated in the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war.

 In 2018, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia.

 From 2019 to 2021, Sukhovetsky headed the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division.

 Promoted to major general, Sukhovetsky was appointed deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army in October 2021. In this role, he fought in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 He also was Spetsnaz commander.

Sukhovetsky was killed in combat in Ukraine on 28 February 2022.

 He had reportedly been shot by a sniper, near Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian forces at the time; however, the 41st Army operated in northern Ukraine, far from Mariupol area.

 According to another version, he was killed at Hostomel airport.

 According to one report, Sukhovetsky had been shot when he ventured to the front of the stalled Russian Kyiv Convoy

Ukrainian sources began reporting his death from 1 March.

 On the Russian side, Sukhovetsky's death was first confirmed on VKontakte by the deputy of Combat Brotherhood, a Russian veterans group.

 Even though this post was subsequently deleted, other Russian paratroopers and veterans also agreed that Sukhovetsky had died, as did the Russian news website Pravda.ru.

 President Vladimir Putin later mentioned in a speech that he had been killed.

Sukhovetsky was a highly decorated soldier, having been awarded 14 medals during his life.

 Several newspapers and analysts agreed that his death was a major blow to the Russian military.

 Sukhovetsky is the second Russian general to have been killed as a result of combat with Ukrainian combatants since the death of General Nikolai F. Vatutin in 1944.