Out of the 166 commanders of Russian units involved in the war in Ukraine, only 39 (23%) had real combat experience on the eve of the invasion, according to a data-journalistic investigation by Proekt Media.
Moreover, 26 of them gained that experience in Syria, where Russian divisions mostly encountered combatant groups armed with light weapons and no heavy machinery, rather than regular army units.
Other six commanders were involved in the Donbass conflict in 2014–2015 in conditions more similar to the current military situation.
According to Proekt Media findings, at least 20 Russian officers in active battle are connected to Ukraine in one way or another (born or raised there), four of them died in the past months of the war.