8th Guards Combined Arms Army
Identification
This record matches the headquarters of Russia’s 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, military unit 33744, in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, under the Southern Military District. TASS identified the army HQ in Novocherkassk in 2018, and a November 2017 Novocherkassk garrison court record names v/ch 33744, confirming the unit’s presence in that garrison by 2017. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/4897496?utm_source=openai)) On 5 August 2024, Presidential Decree No. 663 awarded the army the honorary title Guards. ([base.garant.ru](https://base.garant.ru/409476409/?utm_source=openai))
HQ site
The supplied HQ placemark is consistent with a documented command node for the army in Novocherkassk. ISW’s 2024 ATACMS-range mapping lists the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army HQ at 47.41178, 40.10482 with military unit 33744, effectively matching the provided coordinates; the same mapping also shows a nearby 214th command-and-control center, indicating a broader local command/communications complex rather than a single isolated office site. ([understandingwar.org](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Hundreds%20of%20Russian%20Military%20Objects%20in%20Range%20of%20ATACMS%20PDF.pdf))
Fire-support garrison
The army’s principal long-range fire-support footprint is centered in the Korenovsk area of Krasnodar Krai. ISW mapping places the 47th Missile Brigade at 45.52287, 39.36103 and the 238th Artillery Brigade at 45.51918, 39.36265, matching the supplied placemarks. ([understandingwar.org](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Hundreds%20of%20Russian%20Military%20Objects%20in%20Range%20of%20ATACMS%20PDF.pdf)) Southern Military District reporting in 2021 said the 8th Army had been reinforced with missile and artillery brigades, and local reporting from Korenovsky District in 2023 marked the anniversary of both the 47th and 238th brigades there, displaying Iskander-M equipment and naming their commanders. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/13260775?utm_source=openai))
Force posture
Open reporting indicates that the army’s main maneuver base network spans several rear-area regions, not only Novocherkassk. TASS reported in 2019 that the 150th Motor Rifle Division’s deployment within the 8th Army was being completed in Rostov Oblast, while TASS and Volgograd regional reporting in November 2025 described the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division as deployed in Volgograd Oblast. ([tass.com](https://tass.com/defense/1072486?utm_source=openai)) Separate defense commentary and service-directory sources place the 39th NBC Protection Regiment, military unit 16390, at Oktyabrsky in Volgograd Oblast; however, the current official MoD chain of command linking that regiment to this HQ is not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed here. ([nvo.ng.ru](https://nvo.ng.ru/concepts/2019-01-18/10_1030_tsusima.html?utm_source=openai))
Operational relevance
Open sources consistently associate the 8th Army with Russia’s southwest/Donbas axis. RIA reported in July 2022 that Russian officials credited the 8th Army and LNR forces with the capture of Lysychansk, and ISW assessments in 2023-2025 repeatedly placed 8th Army formations in the Marinka, Avdiivka, Kurakhove, and Toretsk sectors. ([ria.ru](https://ria.ru/20220703/znamena-1799936733.html?utm_source=openai)) For site assessment, this makes the Novocherkassk headquarters a rear-area operational command node for sustained campaigns toward occupied eastern Ukraine, not merely a local administrative garrison. ([ria.ru](https://ria.ru/20220703/znamena-1799936733.html?utm_source=openai))
Command status
The commander field in the supplied metadata is not fully confirmed as current. TASS reported that Gennady Anashkin had been commander of the 8th Army before his May 2024 appointment as acting commander of the Southern Military District, and no later authoritative Russian source located in this review publicly confirmed the current commander of military unit 33744 as of 12 March 2026. The HQ identification is high-confidence; the present commander should be treated as unconfirmed in open sources. ([tass.com](https://tass.com/defense/1788573?utm_source=openai))