| Unit Name: | 18th Combined Arms Army |
| Native Name: | 18-я общевойсковая армия |
| Dates: | August 2023–present |
| Country: | (2023–present) |
| Branch: | (2023–present) |
| Garrison: | Crimea |
| Type: | Combined Arms |
| Size: | Army |
| Command Structure: | Southern Military District |
| Battles: | Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Current Commander: | Lieutenant General Andrey Seritsky |
The 18th Combined Arms Army (18th CAA) is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces.[1]
Formed in Russian Crimea in August 2023 as part of the Southern Military District, Oleg Marzoev, an officer in the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army, reported on August 18 that the 18th CAA was formed "on the basis of" the 22nd Army Corps. This has come as part of a larger move by the Russian Ministry of Defense to strip ground units away from the Russian Navy, in this case the Black Sea Fleet. Marzoev claimed that at the time of its formation the 18th CAA was "one of the largest" units in the Russian army and that the unit was being deployed to southern Kherson Oblast as part of defense against the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[2] [3] The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense assessed that the creation and transfer of the 18th CAA was to free up more experienced Russian units, namely Russian Airborne Forces, to other, more active, sections of the front.[4] [5]
Russian sources have reported that the unit has engaged Ukrainian forces near Kozachi Laheri in November 2023.[6]