As the first participating unit of the Kiev offensive in the Ukrainian war, the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Airborne Forces, known as the top soldier of hell, fought an epic offensive and defensive battle with the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade of the Ukrainian defenders at Antonov Airport.
Russian Airborne Forces
1. History and establishment of the 31st Air Assault Brigade
Grand Badge of the 31st Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade
The 31st Air Assault Brigade was formed in 1998 on the basis of the 104th Guards Airborne Division, and between 1999 and 2001 it participated in the Second Chechen War. Senior Lieutenants Grigory Galkin and Roman Igosin were awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for their performance in the war (posthumously awarded to Igoshin posthumously). Since 2005, the 31st Air Assault Brigade has been the first fully contracted unit in the Russian Armed Forces, and on December 1, 2006, it was transformed into an Air Assault Brigade, and in 2008, the brigade formed a battalion-sized tactical group to participate in the Russian-Georgian War.
31st Air Assault Brigade
The 31st Air Assault Brigade has been listed as one of the Russian rapid reaction forces since 2013, and in February 2014, soldiers of the brigade, wearing Ukrainian "Berkut" police uniforms and badges, attacked the Crimean parliament building.
31st Air Assault Brigade Infantry Combat Vehicle Formation
In August 2014, the 31st Air Assault Brigade and the 8th Mountain Brigade participated in the Battle of Ilovaisk, defeating a rescue team of 276 soldiers, 4 tanks, 3 self-propelled guns and more than 10 infantry fighting vehicles of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, killing 4 people.
The 31st Air Assault Brigade is a fully integrated brigade in the Russian Airborne Forces, with 2 air assault battalions, 1 airborne battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion, 1 tank company, 1 sniper company, 1 howitzer battalion, 1 self-propelled artillery battalion, 1 anti-tank company, and 1 air defense company. In August 2023, the commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky, announced that the 31st Air Assault Brigade would be expanded into the 104th Air Assault Division, returning to divisional strength.
2. The battlefield performance of the 31st Air Assault Brigade
The 31st Air Assault Brigade is ready to go
At the end of 2021, the 31st Air Assault Brigade was deployed to the Ukrainian border in Belarus under the guise of military exercises, and in the early hours of February 24, 2022, soldiers drawn from the 31st Air Assault Brigade boarded helicopters, ostensibly for exercises, and as soon as they took off, the soldiers were told that the mission was to seize Antonov Airport near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The 31st Air Assault Brigade entered the battlefield
The 31st Air Assault Brigade quickly seized control of the airport with fire support from Ka-52 helicopter gunships, but Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire prevented the landing of Russian reinforcement transport planes, and at least 34 soldiers of the 31st Air Assault Brigade were killed in the battle for Antonov Airport, including brigade commander Colonel Sergei Karasev, battalion commanders Major Alexei Oskin, and Lieutenant Colonel Denis Yazhidarov.
The BMD-31 infantry tank of the 2nd brigade destroyed in the battle for Antonov airfield
After the withdrawal of reinforcements from the 90th Tank Division from Kyiv on April 1, 2022, the 31st Air Assault Brigade was redeployed to eastern Ukraine for the Izium and Donetsk battles after a short break and replenishment of personnel.
31st Guards Air Assault Brigade at the parade
In the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade was one of the units that has been on the front line, and in September 2023, the commander of the brigade, Colonel Andrei Kondrashkin, was killed near the village of Andreyivka.
Armband of the 104th Guards Air Assault Division
On February 21, 2024, the Ukrainian army used Seahorse missiles to carry out three attacks on the Russian military training ground near the village of Podokalinovka in Kherson Oblast, killing 36 officers and soldiers of the 104th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 328th Airborne Division on the training ground, and wounding another 28 others. In addition, sources reported that the deputy commander of the 328th Airborne Infantry Regiment was killed in the attack.