Russia’s 'elite' 331st Guards Parachute Regiment is regarded as 'the best of the best' in its armed forces But with a death toll nearing 100, how are these paratroopers - and their family and friends - coping with Putin's long war?
Each time casualty replacements - including the conscripts shown on TV in November - are brought in to replace losses, the original cadre of soldiers gets smaller, and the overall size of the unit diminishes. It may now number no more than 300-400 at the front.
There's a trend seen in a few Russian garrison towns, for wives and mothers to post pictures of themselves with an absent soldier's uniform. One tearful mother of a dead paratrooper from the 331st remembers the Great Patriotic War, and adds, "I hope there will be stories written about our guys".Those questioning the sacrifice tend to get short shrift.
Initially, when the 331st was part of an Airborne Forces task force pushing towards Kyiv, we had difficulty identifying its vehicles in video of the fighting. A painted "V" was used to identify units from all of the various units in that task force, and an inverted triangle symbol with a "3" in the centre was also used by one other regiment apart from the 331st.
Open source analysts have also identified at least 25 destroyed BMDs marked in this way, by combing Ukrainian military social media accounts. As with the dead soldiers, this visible loss does not represent the total, since many other BMDs belonging to the Kostroma regiment have likely been lost outside the view of Ukrainian troops.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Drones aim to undo Ukraine's Russian landmine problemDraganfly aims to help clear Ukraine's deadly harvest
Read more »
The cost of the Ukraine war for one Russian regimentBBC Newsnight has been mapping the cost - in men and machinery - for Russia's 'elite' 331st regiment
Read more »
Russian Urals Breaks Past $60 Price Cap Thanks To OPEC+Russian Urals Breaks Past $60 Price Cap Thanks To OPEC+ | OilPrice.comFollowing the weekend’s surprise OPEC+ 1.6 million bpd output cut, the price of Urals, Russia’s flagship crude oil, has reached beyond the $60 per barrel price cap level set by the G7 in December.
Read more »
Opec puts the power of the Russian price cap to the test\n\t\t\tExpert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends,\n\t\t\trisks and opportunities.\n\t\t\n\t\tJoin over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.
Read more »
Another Russian Energy Oligarch Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances | OilPrice.comAnother Russian oligarch has died under mysterious circumstances, with the body of Igor Shkurko found in his cell yesterday without any explanation.
Read more »
Darya Trepova: What clues does new Russian bomb footage reveal?New footage has emerged from the venue where a pro-Kremlin blogger was killed by a bomb.
Read more »