On 29 August Kapitokhin became the commander of the 10th Airborne Corps in the Moscow Military District. On 10 November 1942 he was promoted to Major general. On 8 December 1942 Kapitokhin became commander of the 8th Guards Airborne Division. On 23 March, he was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3d class. In July 1943 the division fought in the Battle of Kursk. In August he became the commander of the Soviet airborne troops. In September 1943 Kapitokhin organized the Dnieper Airborne Operation. The Dnieper Airborne Operation was a failure, and Kapitokhin was demoted afterwards for alleged incompetence.
