Central Military District
District Overview
The Central Military District (CMD) is one of Russia’s operational-strategic formations. Its headquarters is in Yekaterinburg, and public reporting in 2023–2024 identifies Colonel General Andrey Mordvichev as commander. The district’s responsibilities cover a large expanse across the Urals and portions of the Volga region and Western Siberia. The listed units comprise a mix of combat, combat support, and sustainment formations under district or service subordination, providing long-range fires, air and missile defense, special operations, electronic warfare, NBC defense, engineering, logistics, training, medical support, and materiel storage and repair functions.
Geographic and Basing Context
Headquarters elements are in Yekaterinburg. Open-source reporting places the 3rd Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast, the 24th Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade in Novosibirsk, and the 232nd Rocket Artillery Brigade in the Chebarkul area, Chelyabinsk Oblast. Other units listed operate at multiple garrisons within the district; specific locations are not included in the provided data and are not comprehensively published in open sources. Russia announced the re-establishment of the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts in 2023–2024, which may have adjusted inter-district boundaries; detailed subordination changes have not been fully disclosed publicly.
Command, Control, and Communications
The 59th Command and Control Brigade (military unit 28331) provides deployable command posts and operational-level C2 support, while the 179th Communications Brigade (military unit 40566) furnishes district-wide trunk communications, radio-relay, satellite, and secure networks. The 1388th Command Reconnaissance Center (military unit 23280) consolidates reconnaissance and targeting data to support decision-making. A 157th EW Troops Command and Control Center is listed with a question mark (military unit 65543), indicating uncertainty; no further public details are reliably available. Together, these formations underpin a layered C2 architecture using field-deployable communications and automated control tools standardized across Russian Ground Forces.
Long-Range Rocket Artillery
The 232nd Rocket Artillery Brigade (military unit 31643) fields the BM-27 Uragan multiple launch rocket system. The BM-27, GRAU index 9K57, is a 220 mm system with 16 launch tubes per vehicle and a maximum range generally in the 35 to 40 km class depending on rocket type. Rocket families include high-explosive fragmentation and cargo munitions with submunitions and can include remote mining variants. Typical brigade structures enable massed fires and rapid displacement for survivability, providing area-saturation effects in support of combined-arms operations.
Special Operations Forces
The 3rd Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (military unit 21208) and the 24th Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade (military unit 55433) are Special Purpose formations associated with the Main Directorate of the General Staff in operational employment. Public reporting places the 3rd Brigade in Tolyatti and the 24th in Novosibirsk. Equipment sets for such brigades commonly include BTR-80 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carriers and GAZ Tigr 4x4 armored vehicles used for mobility, reconnaissance, and direct-action tasking. Missions include special reconnaissance, target acquisition for fires, raids, and support to information and electronic warfare operations.
Army Air and Missile Defense
The 28th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (military unit 71316) operates the S-300V4 army air defense system, a tracked, mobile, layered system designed to counter both aerodynamic and select ballistic threats. Open sources attribute to S-300V4 extended engagement ranges against aerodynamic targets, reported up to roughly 200–400 km with the longest-range missile variants, and improved capabilities against tactical ballistic missiles at high altitudes. The system comprises dedicated engagement radars, command posts, and a mix of TELs for 9M82-series and 9M83-series interceptors. It provides area defense for army groupings and key infrastructure and integrates with other ground forces and national air defense assets.
Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence
The 18th Electronic Warfare Brigade (military unit 41158) provides operational-level EW, including communications electronic attack and electronic support to degrade adversary C2 and ISR. The 88th and 39th Separate Special Purpose Radio-Technical Brigades (GRU) (military units 65262 and 63180) conduct strategic and operational radio-technical reconnaissance, including intercept and direction finding across multiple bands. These formations are designed to support targeting, situational awareness, and protection of friendly forces. While Russian EW brigades are publicly documented to field systems such as Leer-3, Borisoglebsk-2, and members of the Krasukha family, detailed equipment tables of organization and distribution for specific units are not comprehensively published.
NBC Defense
The 29th NBC Protection Brigade (military unit 34081) conducts radiological, chemical, and biological reconnaissance; decontamination; smoke and aerosol concealment; and hazard mapping to preserve combat power under CBRN conditions. The 349th and 691st Weapons and NBC Protection Equipment Storage Bases (military units 54730 and 42748) hold and maintain specialized NBC equipment and stocks. NBC Troops in the Russian Armed Forces operate heavy flamethrower systems such as the TOS-1A in dedicated battalions; the provided data does not confirm TOS-1A subordination for this brigade, and no additional public confirmation is available here.
Engineering and Mobility
The 12th Separate Guards Engineer Brigade (military unit 63494) provides breaching, countermobility, survivability, and bridging support, including field fortifications, route clearance, and gap crossing with pontoon parks and mobile bridges. The 29th Separate Railway Repair Battalion (military unit 30623), part of the Railway Troops, repairs and restores rail infrastructure, bridges, and related facilities to maintain strategic lines of communication essential for heavy unit and materiel movements within the district.
Sustainment and Transport
The 105th Separate Logistics Brigade (military unit 11386) provides operational sustainment functions including supply, transport, maintenance support, fuel, and ammunition distribution. The 83rd Separate Automobile Battalion (military unit 42587) offers motor transport support for personnel and cargo movement. A Vehicles Storage site (military unit 74991) indicates an automotive reserve and maintenance capacity. The 103rd Weapons Arsenal (military unit 42701) is a dedicated ammunition and weapons storage facility, with standard responsibilities for custody, servicing, and issue of munitions and weapon systems.
Storage and Repair Base Network
Multiple Weapons and Equipment Storage and Repair Bases are listed: the 103rd, 104th, 187th, and 7027th (military units 32456, 30653, 21431, and 74881). Central Tank Storage and Repair Bases listed include the 349th, 1311th, and 2544th (military units 63753, 42716, and 54630), with an additional Central Tank Storage and Repair Base identified but not named (military unit 75485). These bases conserve, repair, and regenerate armored vehicles and other equipment for issue to active and mobilized formations. Open-source reporting since 2022 has documented Russia’s reactivation of legacy equipment from central reserves to replenish field units; specific inventories at the bases listed are not detailed in the provided data.
Training and Mobilization
The 473rd Regional Junior Specialists Training Center (military unit 31612) conducts basic and specialty training for enlisted personnel across multiple military occupational skills. The 32nd Training Tank Regiment (military unit 55062) and the 140th and 225th Training Motor Rifle Regiments (military units 44959 and 55059) provide platform-specific and branch training, including gunnery, driving, and small-unit tactics. Training centers and regiments are integral to the mobilization pipeline, preparing replacements and newly formed subunits; precise throughput and course structures vary by specialty and are not fully published.
Medical Support
The 183rd Special Purpose Medical Detachment (military unit 64557) and a Medical Detachment (military unit 51837) furnish expeditionary medical support, including triage, surgery, resuscitation, stabilization, and evacuation within the operational area. These formations typically provide modular Role 2-level capabilities with the capacity to augment hospital-level care through reinforcement and referral networks; exact table of organization and equipment and bed capacities are not publicly disclosed for the units listed.
Information and Psychological Operations
A 2059th Psychological Operations Group (GRU) (military unit 03138) is listed. Russian doctrine uses the term information and psychological influence, combining psychological operations, perception management, and supporting technical measures. Publicly available, authoritative details about this specific group’s structure, capabilities, and garrison are limited; no further verifiable information beyond the designation and unit number is provided here.
Signals and Reconnaissance Integration
The presence of the 1388th Command Reconnaissance Center alongside the 88th and 39th Radio-Technical Brigades and the 18th EW Brigade suggests a vertical integration of signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance tasking. Standard Russian practice links intercept and direction-finding, electronic attack, and reconnaissance fusion at district level to support operational targeting and protection of command posts and field groupings. Specific sensor locations, antenna farms, and fixed-site details are not publicly enumerated for the units listed.
Air and Missile Defense Posture
The 28th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade’s S-300V4 provides area defense for maneuver formations and fixed sites within the district. When deployed, S-300V4 batteries can protect high-value clusters such as industrial hubs, logistics nodes, and major garrisons, and they typically operate in coordination with medium- and short-range army air defense assets and the national aerospace defense network. Specific deployment patterns, alert statuses, and engagement areas are not disclosed in the provided data and are generally not available in open sources at unit granularity.
Data Quality Notes and Anomalies
The list includes apparent typographical errors such as 3nd for 3rd and milkitary for military. The 59th Command and Control Brigade (military unit 28331) appears twice; this likely reflects duplication rather than two distinct units. The 157th EW Troops Command and Control Center is marked with a question mark, indicating uncertainty. One Central Tank Storage and Repair Base is listed without a numeric name (military unit 75485). Where explicit garrisons or equipment subtleties are not confirmed in open sources, no additional attributions are made.
Classification and Disclosure
This analysis is based on open-source, publicly available information and the unit designations provided. Detailed tables of organization and equipment, precise garrison coordinates, readiness levels, and classified deployment information are not publicly released and are therefore not included. Organizational adjustments linked to Russia’s 2023–2024 district reforms are acknowledged; complete, authoritative post-reform subordination details have not been comprehensively published.