After the end of the Cold War and the resultant withdrawal of Soviet units in Germany, the army was relocated to Smolensk, and disbanded in 1999.

This reformed army fought in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where it was claimed to have suffered heavy casualties following its eventual retreats from the north and later Kharkiv.

[6] It was quickly transferred to the Voronezh Front for the defense of the Kursk salient's southern shoulder, adding the newly formed 31st Tank Corps to its subordinate commands.

In July 1992 the 336th Independent Helicopter Regiment returned from Germany to Oreshkovo airfield and was placed under the Moscow Military District.

It commands the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle and the 4th Tank Divisions, which are considered the elite formations of their respective combat arms.

[17] Due to their proximity to the capital, extra scrutiny was applied to personnel of these formations, making these postings especially prestigious.

[26][27] Members of the 1st Guards Tank Army's 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division were sentenced in absentia to imprisonment by Ukrainian courts for alleged war crimes including the shelling of the city hospital of Trostianets[28][29] and ordering the killing of a civilian in Boromlia, both in Sumy Oblast.

"[37] Ukraine reported in May 2022 that the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate had obtained documents showing that after 3 weeks of fighting the 1st Guards Tank Army had sustained 409 casualties (61 KIA, 209 WIA, 44 missing, 96 surrendered), and 308 units of military equipment had been seized.

[38] The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence reported on 19 May 2022 that army commander General-Lieutenant Sergey Kisel had been suspended for his failure to capture Kharkiv.

[40] By December, the UK MoD reported that the Army had been replenished with recruits, and was active on the Luhansk Oblast front.