The Impact Of 100 Days Of War In Ukraine For An Elite Russian Paratrooper Unit

Soldiers of the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade in Ukraine. vk.com/milinfolive  

Moscow Times: ‘Are There Even Any Left?’ 100 Days of War in Ukraine For an Elite Russian Unit  

On a remote plain on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border the morning of Feb. 24, hundreds of paratroopers from Russia’s 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade boarded helicopters they thought were bound for a training ground in western Belarus. 

But once the units were airborne, senior officers turned to the men to tell them that they were actually at war with Ukraine. Instead of Grodno, they entered Ukrainian airspace on their way to Hostomel airport near the capital city of Kyiv. 

“The troops were f*****g shocked, people turned gray, especially considering we took fire in the air,” said Nikita Ponomarev, a paratrooper later captured by the Ukrainians. 

In the 100 days since the surprise assault on Hostomel, Russia’s war on Ukraine has shifted from this style of rapid maneuvering to the grinding artillery duels and the creeping Russian advances now taking place in the east of the country.  

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WNU Editor: The first wave of attackers in any war are always the ones who suffer the highest casualties. The 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade is no exception.

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