Overview

Alexander Kuznetsov (call sign “Ratibor”) was the longtime commander of the Wagner Group’s First Assault Detachment and one of the longest-serving and most respected commanders within the organization. An experienced special forces operator, he was instrumental in combat and training operations in Syria, Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, and Ukraine, where he co-led the successful capture of Bakhmut in 2022–2023.

Kuznetsov was born on August 10, 1977, in the town of Gatchina, close to modern-day St. Petersburg. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Higher Combined Arms Command School and embarked on a career in the armed services, deploying to Chechnya during the Second Chechen War. By 2008, he had been promoted to major and served as a commander at the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) special forces training unit “Senezh” in Moscow, which eventually became the basis for the formation of Russia’s Special Operations Forces. Kuznetsov served three years in prison for kidnapping and robbing a man, emerging free in April 2013. Upon release, he traveled to Syria to work for the Moran Security Group and the spinoff Slavonic Corps.

Kuznetsov is one of the earliest Wagner Group commanders, joining the group no later than summer 2014. He participated in the Wagner Group’s earliest engagements, including the Battle of Debaltseve and subsequent deployment to Syria, likely as early as mid-2015. In 2017, he led hybrid units consisting of Russian and Syrian forces to capture Syria’s Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor regions. From July 2018 through at least September 2021, Kuznetsov was based in Sudan, where he oversaw the Wagner Group’s gold mining interests and training operations. During this period, he also appeared in the CAR and Libya, where he sustained one of several major injuries over the course of his career. By no later than February 2023, and likely from the fall of 2022, Kuznetsov was a central commander in the Wagner Group’s effort to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which was accomplished on May 20, 2023. In June, he participated in Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny, reportedly leading the operation to capture strategic buildings in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Since then, Kuznetsov helped form units within Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s “Akhmat” paramilitary forces, which are officially part of Russia’s National Guard. These units partially consist of former Wagner Group members. For his service to the Russian state, Kuznetsov has been recognized as a Hero of Russia and awarded four Orders of Courage.

Kuznetsov is the subject of sanctions imposed by the European Union, Switzerland, and Ukraine.