35th Combined Arms Army


The 35th Combined Arms Red Banner Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces. The army was first formed in July 1941 with the Far Eastern Front. After spending most of World War II guarding the border in Primorsky Krai, the army fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war. Reformed at Belogorsk when Sino-Soviet tensions rose in the late 1960s in the Far East, the army became part of the Eastern Military District in 2010.

World War II

The 35th Army was formed from the 18th Rifle Corps in July 1941, part of the Far Eastern Front. It included the 35th, 66th and 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th Fortified Region and smaller artillery and infantry units. It defended the Soviet border in Primorsky Krai. 18th Rifle Corps commander Major General Vladimir Zaytsev became the army commander. On 1 May 1945 35th Army joined the Maritime Group of Forces. In June, Lieutenant General and Hero of the Soviet Union Nikanor Zakhvatayev became the army commander. Zaytsev was still a major general and became the army's deputy commander. The Maritime Group of Forces was transformed on 5 August 1945 to the 1st Far East Front. It had as part of its structure the 66th, 264th and 363rd Rifle Divisions, the 8th and 109th Fortified Regions, the 125th, 208th, and 209th Tank Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units. With these forces the army participated in the Harbin-Kirin Offensive Operation during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
During the Harbin-Kirin Offensive, the army was tasked with attacking from positions southwest of Lesozavodsk towards Mishan. The army was to defeat elements of the Kwantung Army on the left bank of the Songacha River and capture the Hutou Fortified Area. Parts of the army were assigned to defend the right bank of the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers, as well as defending railways and roads in the Guberovo and Spassk-Dalny areas. At the beginning of the offensive, the army crossed the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers using transports of the Amur Flotilla and captured Hulin. It captured Mishan on 12 August and by the end of the next day had captured Dunan. The army then captured Kentey-Alin and Boli on 16 August. The army cut off the Kwangtung Army's line of retreat at Mudanjiang. By 19 August, the army was in the Linkou County. The army was then involved in disarming surrendering Japanese soldiers. On 1 October 1945, the army became part of the Primorsky Military District and was disbanded within a month.

Commanders

Cold War 1969 reformation

In June 1969 the 29th Army Corps became the 35th Army. In 1968–69 four divisions were gathered to become part of the corps, later army, in the Far East: 265th Motor Rifle Division arrived in 1968, 266th Motor Rifle Division arrived from the North Caucasus Military District and the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division from the Baltic Military District in 1969, and the 192nd Motor Rifle Division was activated that same year.
On 16 May 1977, the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division became the 21st Guards Tank Division. In February 1980, the 67th Motor Rifle Division was transferred to the army from the Leningrad Military District.
In 1988 the 35th Army consisted of the:
Headquarters 35th Red Banner Army :
  • 21st Guards Tank Division : 2nd Guards Tank Regiment, 125th Guards Tank Regiment, 111th Guards Tank Regiment, 277th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 64th Guards Artillery Regiment, 1064th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 67th Motor Rifle Division : 422nd Tank Regiment, 1212th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1216th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1217th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1302nd Artillery Regiment, 1042nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 192nd Motor Rifle Division : 371st Tank Regiment, 190th Motor Rifle Regiment, 684th Motor Rifle Regiment, 679th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1219th Artillery Regiment, 1414th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 265th Motor Rifle Division : 373rd Tank Regiment, 212th, 421st and 695th Motor Rifle Regiments, artillery regiment, anti-aircraft rocket regiment
  • 266th Motor Rifle Division : 376th Tank Regiment, 155th, 430th, 785th Motor Rifle Regiments, artillery regiment, anti-aircraft rocket regiment
  • 12th Fortified Area
  • Army Troops
  • * 768th Separate Protection and Security Company
  • * 49th Separate Tank Regiment
  • * 827th Separate Spetsnaz Company
  • * 153rd Rocket Brigade
  • * 178th Separate Helicopter Squadron
  • * Separate Unmanned Reconnaissance Squadron
  • * 54th Separate Communications Regiment
  • * 668th Communications Center
  • * Separate Chemical Defense Battalion
  • * 14th Separate Armored Train
  • * 15th Separate Armored Train
  • * 16th Separate Armored Train
  • * 165th Machine Gun Artillery Brigade
  • * 38th Reactive Artillery Regiment
  • * Reconnaissance Artillery Regiment
  • * 1983rd Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion
  • * 396th Separate Reconnaissance Artillery Battalion
  • * 71st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • * Separate Pontoon-Bridge Battalion
  • * 318th Separate Radiotechncial Regiment of Special Designation
  • * Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion
  • * 1719th Separate Radio Relay and Cable Battalion
  • * 1899th Separate Radiotechnical Battalion PVO
  • * 43rd Materiel Support Brigade
  • * 6508th Repair and Restoration Base

Russian Federation

The 35th Army is still stationed in the Eastern Military District with its headquarters at Belogorsk.
Until the 2008–2011 reform when it became the 35CAA, it consisted of three divisions: the 21st Guards and 270th Motor Rifle Divisions, and the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division, along with smaller combat and support units.
In 2009, the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division became the 69th Separate Fortress Brigade. In 2010, the 270th Motor Rifle Division became the 243rd Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division appears to have become the 38th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.
In 2016, the army consisted of the following units:

2022 invasion of Ukraine

In the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, elements of the 35th Army had been deployed to Belarus and were participating in active combat operations.
In June 2022, Russian military bloggers reported that the 35CAA was routed in the battle of Izyum and that the remnants of the army withdrew to Belgorod, claiming that the number of infantry in the brigades of the army had fallen to "12-15 people, the combined number of 38th and 64th motorised brigades – less than 100 of truly combat-ready infantry in each brigade." On 4 June 2022 Ukrainian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had almost completely annihilated the 35CAA.
In August 2022 the remnants of the 35CAA were reportedly sent to defend the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast on the West Bank of the Dnieper river, alongside the 49th Combined Arms Army.
On 30 August 2025, The Ukrainian I Want to Live project claimed that 18 Russian officers were killed in an arson attack on a command post of the 35th Combined Arms Army near Voskresenska, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Commanders

Soviet era

The following officers commanded the 35th Army from 1969 to 1991.
  • Major/Lieutenant General Yury Zarudin
  • Lieutenant General Yury Potapov
  • Major/Lieutenant General Vyacheslav Dubinin
  • Major/Lieutenant General Ivan Morozov
  • Major/Lieutenant General Fyodor Kuzmin
  • Major General Valery Kotin
  • Lieutenant General Vladimir Toporov

Russian Federation

  • Lieutenant General Yevgeny Vysotsky
  • Lieutenant General Evgeni Nikolaevich Malakhov
  • Lieutenant General Anatoli Mikhailovich Nutrikhin
  • Lieutenant General Aleksandr Vladimirovich Kutikov
  • Lieutenant General Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov
  • Lieutenant General Nikolai Vasilyevich Bogdanovski
  • Lieutenant General Igor Nikolaevich Turchenyuk
  • Lieutenant General Sergei Vitalyevich Solomatin
  • Lieutenant General Sergei Valeryevich Chebotaryov
  • Lieutenant General Aleksandr Semyonovich Sanchik
  • Major General Sergei Semyonovich Nyrkov