The SOF is distinct from theSpetsnaz GRU with their use of soldiers hired on contract; or, to put it simply,mercenaries.[20] All soldiers of the SOF are personnel who serve on contract; many of which all are full-time servicemen consisting ofcommissioned officers and regular soldiers.[20]
The Special Operations Forces are a highly mobile, well-trained and equipped, constant combat preparedspecial operations force of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Designed for performing specific tasks, the SOF have the ability to function both within the country and abroad, in peacetime and in wartime (with application of military force, by necessity).
The SOF have been primarilyinvolved in Syria, conducting target acquisition forRussian Air Force combat planes conductingairstrikes andRussian Navy sea-launchedcruise missile strikes, serving as military advisors training Syrian government troops, seek and destroying critical enemy objects, disruption behind enemy lines through ambushes,high value targeted assassinations and retaliation strikes against select groups of fighters.[28]
In 2009, as a part of the comprehensive reform of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces, Special Operations Directorate, subordinate directly to the Chief of the General Staff, was created on the basis of theGRU's 322nd Specialist Training Center in theMoscow region (Military Unit 92154).[19] The unit saw extensive action in the Caucasus region and earned the nicknamepodsolnukhi (sunflowers), a nickname given to the soldiers assigned to the unit while serving inChechnya. It was reported thatColonel Oleg Martianov, who later became a member of the board of theMilitary-Industrial Commission, was one of the founders and first commander of the SOF from 2009 to 2013.[29]
In 2012, the Special Operations Directorate was reorganized as Special Operations Command, which was followed by plans to upscale the Forces manpower up to 9special purpose brigades.[20]
On 6 March 2013,General Valery Gerasimov announced the creation of the Special Operations Forces. While speaking to foreign military attaches inMoscow, he said: "After reviewing the practice of the formation, training and the use of special operations forces in the leading countries of the world, Russia's Defense Ministry has also begun to create them... A corresponding command was created, which is engaged in planning work and implements a plan of training of the Armed Forces... A set of documents has already been elaborated to determine the direction of development, methods of training and application of these forces".[21][30]
On 15 March 2013, according to Russian media reports, the creation of the Special Operations Center of theMinistry of Defense for around 500 professional soldiers began in the suburban village of Kubinka-2. The Formation of the center was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. The center would be directly subordinate to the Special Operations Forces Command of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
At the end of April 2013, units of the Special Operations Forces conducted a special tactics exercise atElbrus mountains at an altitude of 4,500 meters. The exercise was dedicated to practice transportation of one of the SOF units by military transport aviation and army aviation, as well as air insertion of personnel and cargo into target the area.[31][32]
During peacetime, the SOF may also be called in to execute certain specialised homeland security operations. In May 2013, the General Staff said that the unit would be tasked with security of the2014 Winter Olympic Games inSochi and that the SOF now comprised air and naval components.[33] Again, when Russia hosted the2018 FIFA World Cup, the SOF andFSB special forces units took charge of ensuring the security.[34]
The SOF also conducted counter-terrorism and special operations during theinsurgency in theNorth Caucasus region disguised as otherSpetsnaz units.
On 2 December 2017, an unnamed mountain with a height of 3,939 meters located on the Sudor ridge in theIrafsky District of theRepublic of North Ossetia-Alania, was named "Mountain of Special Operations Forces".[35]
The SOF has also taken part in anti-piracy operations in theGulf of Aden, clashing with Somali pirates.
In late February 2014, an unknown number of SOF operators alongside other Russian troops enteredCrimea disguised as"little green men" and captured the Crimean Parliament and also began the blockading and capturing of other significant and strategic sites across the peninsula.[3][4]
On 11 December 2017, SOF units provided top-level security for the unannounced visit of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to Syria atKhmeimim Air Base by covering the most dangerous directions from sea, air and land. Vladimir Putin and Defence MinisterSergey Shoygu later personally thanked all the military personnel involved for their exemplary performance of the task.[37]
In February 2022, the SOF was involved in thefull-scale invasion of Ukraine, conducting covert operations targeting critical military infrastructure and support systems of Ukraine and reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines.[38]
While official numbers are classified, among three locations: the Special Purpose Center "Senezh" (military unit 92154) (Russian:Сенеж (в/ч 92154)), which was established in the late 1990s to support of military operations underway in the Chechen Republic, named the Center for the Training of Specialists (Russian:Центр подготовки специалистов) with a sunflower as its emblem until it was renamed the "Senezh" center and is located on the shores ofSenezh Lake (Russian:Сенежское) not far fromSolnechnogorsk,[39][40][41] and the headquarters at the Special Purpose Center "Kubinka-2" (military unit 01355) nicknamed "zazaborye" (Russian:Кубинка-2 (в/ч 01355) по прозвищу Зазаборье),[40][41][a] which is located atKubinka,Moscow Oblast, and was established on 7 April 2011,[40][41] and the SOF Center in "Sevastopol" (military unit 00317) (Russian:Центр ССО в Севастополе (в/ч 00317)),[41][42] which is located inCrimea atSevastopol and was established in 2014;[41] analysts believe the size is around 2,000 to 2,500 total personnel. The command has supporting elements providing combat support and combat service support functions. There is a dedicated special aviation brigade that directly controls combat aviation assets atTorzhok, and a squadron ofIlyushin Il-76 transport aircraft at theMigalovo airfield nearTver.[19][43]
The Special Operations Forces Command is similar in role to the U.S.Joint Special Operations Command.[44] The command reachedfull operational capability later in 2013 and also serves as the central command authority for the entire SOF structure of which is subordinate directly to the General Staff.
SOF operatives duringHALO training.SOF operatives in a winter combat training drill.
The training of the officer recruit special operators is carried out in theRyazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School – RVVDKU (department of special and military intelligence and the department of the use of special forces) and the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School – NVVKU (department of special intelligence and the chair of the special reconnaissance and airborne training). At "Senezh", potential operators learn skydiving, mountaineering, swimming andmilitary diving, and storming buildings and homes, while "Kubinka-2" focuses on maritime operations and reconnaissance and controls several naval special operations detachments.[19]
There is a cold weather/mountaineering training centre atMount Elbrus codenamed "Terskol", inKabardino-Balkaria and the 54th Special Reconnaissance Center inVladikavkaz,North Ossetia–Alania. Several more sensitive centers specialised for training SOF specialists also exist inmilitary secrecy. Depending on the individual tasks the operatives are being prepared for or specialise in, the training varies.[19]
The Special Operations Forces warfare training centers and facilities:
In 2014,unidentified armed men began blockading Ukrainian bases inCrimea, and on 27 February, theyseized theCrimean parliament. While claiming to be a local militia, this well-armed and highly professional unit turned out to be the first deployment of Russia's special operators.[45][46][47] On 18 March, undercover operativescaptured another military base inSimferopol. According to Russian sources, SOF commander Major GeneralAlexey Dyumin, personally conducted operations in Crimea.[48][49] Colonel Alexander Popov served as a detachment commander of the SOF and was directly involved in the events for which he was awarded the honorary title ofHero of the Russian Federation.[50]
During theBattle of Palmyra in March 2016, Senior LieutenantAlexander Prokhorenko was killed after he ordered an airstrike on his location after being surrounded by ISIL fighters and out of ammunition. He was posthumously awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation for the heroic feat.[51][52][53]
On 10 May 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally awarded medals to four officers of the SOF for showing extraordinary courage combating terrorists in Syria. They were part of a 16-man special forces detachment unit which managed to successfully repulse attacks conducted by over 300 jihadists without any losses. The commander of the unit, Lieutenant Colonel Danila was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation.[54][55]
On 16 August 2017, a 4-5 man SOF unit was ambushed by 40Islamic State terrorists in the town ofAkerbat and being abandoned by Syrian soldiers. After all the other members of his unit were injured, including the commander and the second officer, Lance corporal Denis Portnyagin took upon the whole job himself and killed 14 terrorists in the process and was even ready to blow his grenades to prevent their capture. He was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation for this feat.[56]
On 20 September 2017, the Russian General Staff saidjihadist militants tried to capture a 29-man unit of theRussian military police two days before, whom were monitoring the ceasefire in a de-escalation zone in Idlib. The trapped unit fought for several hours and were eventually rescued in a special operation by a joint task force which comprised theSyrian andRussian Air Force alongside the SOF. Three SOF operators were injured. All 29 men withdrew safely without any fatalities. Hundreds of jihadists were killed inretaliatory airstrikes by 21 September.[57][58]
On 26 September 2017, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Russia had conducted massive cruise missile strikes in Deir ez-Zor and Idlib destroying significant ISIS andAl-Nusra Front targets.[59] On 27 September 2017, 5 Al-Nusra field commanders were killed in an airstrike alongside 32 militants in Idlib province. Another airstrike on 3 October 2017, killed 12 Al-Nusra field commanders including Ahmad al-Ghizai, Al-Nusra's security service chief and at least 50 militants in an undisclosed location in Syria. The Defense Ministry cited the use of "special measures" in thosetargeted strikes on militant positions, indicating the involvement of Russian special forces in the operations.[60]
On 12 January 2018, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the group of militants responsible for a massive mortar attack targeting theKhmeimim Air Base in Syria on 31 December 2017 which killed two Russian soldiers were liquidated in the course of a special operation. SOF operators tracked the militants to their base camp near the border of Idlib and destroyed the entire group with aKrasnopol projectile as they were boarding a minibus to leave the base. No mentions were made of which group the militants were affiliated to. Separately, a depot storing militant drones located in Idlib province was destroyed as well.[61][62]
On 25 March 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a group of more than 30 terrorists were eliminated in a special operation by the SOF and the Russian Air Force after they were identified. The operation was a retaliation for the terrorist attack in late February 2019 which killed 2 Russian servicemen. The location and affiliation of the terrorists were undisclosed.[63][64]
DuringOperation Dawn of Idlib, SOF were suspected to be responsible for multiple successful raids behind enemy lines especially in Idlib province killing scores of rebel fighters including two prominent commanders fromAhrar al-Sham andJaysh al-Nasr. Others killed were fromSuqour Al-Sham,Hurras Al-Din and other various rebel factions.[65]
On 25 August 2020, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian and Syrian aviation with the support of artillery and the SOF carried out a joint operation which killed 327 militants and destroyed 134 shelters, 17 observation posts, 7 ammunition warehouses and 5 underground storage facilities of ISIS from 18 to 24 August across theSyrian Desert. The operation was in response to anIED explosion which killed Major General Vyacheslav Gladkikh and wounded 3 Russian soldiers near Deir ez-Zor back on 18 August.[66][67]
According to the Russian Defence Ministry as of February 2019, there are ten cases among SOF personnel in Syria that have been confirmed to bekilled in action.[68] Four members whose status are presumed to have been killed still remains unclear as of September 2019.[69][70]
^"Zazaborye" (Russian:Зазаборье) or 'to Zaborye' refers to the locationZaborye which was a Cossack settlement near Moscow that was referred to as the "Moscow Cossacks" and currently is located withinDomodedovo,Moscow Oblast.
^abcdeНикольский, Алексей (Nikolsky, Alexey) (11 November 2017)."Глава 1. Внешняя политика - Оборона: "Силы специальных операций: длинная рука Москвы"" [Chapter 1. Foreign Policy - Defense: "Special Operations Forces: Moscow's Long Arm"].Аналитический центр «Обсерво» (obsfr.ru) (in Russian). Archived fromthe original on 28 May 2025. Retrieved28 May 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Созданный в 2012 году, аналитический центр «Обсерво» преследует двойную цель: представить экспертную оценку политическому, экономическому и социальному развитию России, а также объяснить французские реалии и повестку дня для руководящих лиц и российским СМИ. (Created in 2012, the Observatoire's analytical centre has a dual objective: to provide expert assessments of Russia's political, economic and social developments, and to explain French realities and agendas to policymakers and the Russian media.)
^"ФКУ «ВОЙСКОВАЯ ЧАСТЬ 00317»" [FEDERAL STATE INSTITUTION "MILITARY UNIT 00317"].«РБК» (rbc.ru) (in Russian). 23 November 2020. Archived fromthe original on 28 May 2025. Retrieved28 May 2025.
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