The 31st Separate Guards Order of Kutuzov 2nd class Air Assault Brigade is an airborne

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the

Russian Airborne Troops The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

, based in

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

. The brigade was formed in 1998 from the

104th Guards Airborne Division The 104th Guards Airborne Division () was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops during the Cold War that briefly became part of the Russian Airborne Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was originally formed as the 11th Guards Ai ...

. The brigade fought in the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

and the

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

. During the Crimean crisis 2014 elements of the brigade entered Ukraine's

Crimean peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

. In August 2014 brigade's units participated in the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The brigade fought in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, beginning with the

Battle of Antonov Airport The Battle of Antonov Airport, also known as the Battle of Hostomel Airport, was a military engagement which occurred at the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast, during the Kyiv offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 Feb ...

in which they suffered heavy losses.

History

The brigade was created as a result of the disbandment of the

in 1998 at Ulyanovsk. Between 1999 and 2001, the brigade fought in the

. For their actions during the war, Senior lieutenants Grigory Galkin and

Roman Igoshin Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

were awarded the title

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

(Igoshin posthumously). Since 2005, the brigade has used a contract manning system. On 1 December 2006, it was redesignated as an air assault brigade. A

battalion tactical group A battalion tactical group (russian: Батальонная тактическая группа, ''batal'onnaya takticheskaya gruppa''), abbreviated as BTG, is a combined-arms manoeuvre unit deployed by the Russian Army that is kept at a high lev ...

of the brigade fought in the

in 2008. A monument to Army General

Vasily Margelov Vasily Filippovich Margelov (Russian language, Russian: Василий Филиппович Маргелов; be, Васі́ль Пілі́павіч Марге́лаў; – 4 March 1990) was a Red Army General of the army (USSR), General who wa ...

is located at the brigade's base in Ulyanovsk. In April 2010, VDV commander

Vladimir Shamanov Vladimir Anatolyevich Shamanov (russian: Владимир Анатольевич Шаманов, born 15 February 1957) is a retired Colonel General of the Russian Armed Forces who was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) from M ...

visited the brigade and viewed its battalion tactical exercises. The brigade was part of the

Collective Rapid Reaction Force The Collective Rapid Reaction Force (russian: link=no, Коллективные силы оперативного реагирования, КСОР; KSOR) is a joint combined arms task force comprising independent military units from the Collect ...

as of 2013. In February 2014, elements of the brigade were sent to Crimea. Brigade troops assaulted the building of

Crimean Parliament The State Council of Crimea (russian: Госуда́рственный Сове́т Респу́блики Крым, uk, Державна Рада Республіки Крим, crh, Къырым Джумхуриетининъ Девлет Ш ...

, wearing Ukrainian "Berkut" police uniforms and insignia. In August 2014 the brigade's units fought in the

Battle of Ilovaisk The Battle of Ilovaisk; uk, Іловайський котел, '). The word "kettle" refers to encirclement by enemy forces, which is termed "falling into the kettle". The word is also used to refer to battles during the Second World War, such ...

. On 26 August a column of mixed 8th Mountain Brigade and 31st Air Assault Brigade units was ambushed by a Ukrainian anti-tank artillery squad of the 51st Mechanized Brigade near Mnohopillya village. Two soldiers of 31st Brigade were captured: Ruslan Akhmetov and Arseniy Ilmitov. During a rescue attempt, another 31st Brigade unit was ambushed. Nikolai Kozlov, a paratrooper who participated in the

building takeover in February, lost his leg in the ambush. After Russian "RBK" media had published an investigation where it assumed Akhmetov and Ilmitov were killed in the battle of Ilovaisk, notorious "Lifenews" media made a TV report, where it visited brigade's garrison in

and spoke to both Akhmetov and Ilmitov proving they're alive and are actual servicemen of the Russian army. During the Ukrainian forces' withdrawal from Ilovaisk on August 29,

Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...

fighters were able to capture two soldiers of the 31st Air Assault Brigade near Chervonosilske village: Nikita Terskikh and Eugen Sardaryan, as well as some soldiers of 6th Tank Brigade. On 4 June 2015,

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

cited an unnamed official claiming that the 104th Guards Airborne Division would be reformed from the brigade. Inspection2018-08

In March 2016, the brigade temporarily moved from its base at Ulyanovsk to

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

in snap readiness drills. The brigade was deployed to Belarus in preparation for the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, which began on 24 February 2022. The soldiers of the brigade boarded helicopters that morning, ostensibly for exercises. Once airborne, they were notified that they were at war with Ukraine before mounting a surprise air assault that began the

near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The brigade quickly seized control of the airfield, but Russian reinforcements were prevented from using it by Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire. Facing counterattacks in which at least 34 soldiers of the brigade were killed. The 31st was then committed to the

Battle of Hostomel The Battle of Hostomel was a battle fought for control over the town of Hostomel between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As part of the Kyiv offensive, the Russian forces sought control over H ...

, in which they suffered heavy casualties that included brigade commander Colonel Sergey Karasev and battalion commanders Major Alexey Oskin and Lieutenant Colonel Denis Yagidarov. After the Russian retreat from Kyiv Oblast on 1 April, the remnants of the brigade were redeployed to eastern Ukraine for the Battle of Izium and then participated in the Battle of Sievierodonetsk.

Composition

As of 2021, brigade units include: * Two air assault battalions * One airborne battalion * One recon battalion * One tank company * One sniper company * One howitzer battalion * One self-propelled artillery battalion * One anti-tank battery * One air defence battery

Commanders

* Major General Vadim Orlov (1998–2000) * Colonel Sergey Yevgenyevich Kapustin (2000–2002) * Colonel Nikolai Sergeyevich Nikulnikov (2002–2005) * Colonel Vladimir Anatolyevich Kochetkov (2005–2007) * Sergei Nikolaevich Volyk (2007–2008) * Aleksei Nikolaevich Ragozin (2008–2010) * Colonel Dmitry Valeryevich Glushenkov (2010–2012) * Colonel Gennady Vladimirovich Anashkin (2012–2014) * Colonel Dmitry Sergeyevich Ovcharov (2014–2017) * Andrei Vasilyevich Stesev (2017–2019) * Viktor Igorevich Gunaza (2019–2020) * Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Selivyorstov (2020–2021) * Colonel Sergei Karasev (July 2021– KIA Ukraine March 11)

Gallery

31 ODShBr VSRF.png, Brigade sleeve patch (since 2006) Russian 31st Airborne Brigade patch.svg, Brigade sleeve patch (until 2006) Sleeve patch of the 31st Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade.svg, Brigade sleeve patch (current)

References

{{Brigades of the Russian Ground Forces Airborne infantry brigades of Russia Military units and formations established in 1998 Military units and formations of Russia in the war in Donbas