In the context of Ukrainian media propaganda, the Russian Airborne Forces are one of the most mentioned troops, such as the 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade and the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade, which have been wiped out several times, but for the 7th Mountain Air Assault Division, the 76th Guards Air Assault Division, and the 98th Guards Airborne Division, which are relatively large divisional units, it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that people were wiped out, so it will be changed to heavy losses and loss of combat effectiveness.
Paratroopers of the 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade during an airborne combat exercise
The 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade we are talking about today is not the worst Russian airborne force that has been hacked, but the death of 6 officers above the major level, including 2 deputy brigade commanders, has also excited the Ukrainian media several times, after all, it can cause damage to the airborne troops representing the most elite units of Russia, which proves that Ukraine has strong combat effectiveness.
1. History and establishment of the 83rd Air Assault Brigade
Paratroopers of the 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade conduct airborne operations
The history of the 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade dates back to November 1985, when it was called the 65th Separate Air Assault Battalion, formed on the basis of the 6th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Battalion of the 126th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, and was attached to Army Group North, and from May to November 1986, the battalion was expanded into the 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade. On May 18, 1990, the brigade was transferred to the command of the Airborne Forces and reorganized into the 83rd Separate Airborne Brigade, and in July of the same year, it was transferred to Ussuriysk of the Far Eastern Military District.
paratroops
On February 1, 1996, the brigade ceased to be part of the Airborne Forces and was transferred to the Far Eastern Military District. During an exercise in 2002, the brigade successfully coordinated with naval infantry at Cape Klerk, southwest of Vladivostok, and won the commendation of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. On December 1, 2013, the brigade was reassigned to the Russian Airborne Forces, and on March 25, 2015, after the Crimean War, it was awarded the honorary title of Guards.
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade currently has three airborne battalions, namely the 598th Airborne Battalion, the 635th Airborne Battalion, and the 654th Airborne Battalion, as well as the Tank Battalion and the 9th Guards Artillery Battalion.
2. The battlefield performance of the 83rd Air Assault Brigade
Tracked assault vehicles equipped with the 83rd Air Assault Brigade
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade, although not the first airborne troops to enter the battlefield in Ukraine, is part of the front-line strategic reserve, and the first senior officer killed in this war was the brigade's deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Slabuzov, who died on March 24, 2022.
The deputy commander of the assault battalion, Major Ernestovich Eugene, was killed
Then participated in the Battle of Bakhmut, which was compared to the Battle of Verdun in World War I and the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, the 83rd Air Assault Brigade was mainly responsible for covering the flank of the Russian army in this urban street battle, and both Russia and Ukraine suffered heavy casualties, and on May 21, 2022, Major Vladimir Chilin, deputy commander of the 83rd Air Assault Brigade who served in Syria, was killed in action and buried in Ryazan.
Armored personnel carrier based on BMD-4M
On September 5, 2022, Major Ernestovich Eugene, deputy commander of the 83rd Air Assault Battalion of the 2nd Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, was killed. On September 24, 2022, the deputy commander of the 83rd Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Tashmatov, was killed. On June 21, 2023, the deputy commander of the assault battalion of the 83rd Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, Major Ilsat Bagatdinov, was killed. On October 6, 2023, the commander of the 83rd Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Miroshnichenko, was killed in an ambush by the 92nd Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade.
A commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Assault Brigade raises the Ukrainian flag on September 16, 2023
As early as September 16, 2023, the commander of the Ukrainian Army, General Oleksandr Sersky, claimed that after fighting in the eastern Bakhmut region, the 72nd Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 31st and 83rd Air Assault Brigades, three elite Russian units, had been routed and completely incapacitated.
And in June 2024, Forbes military columnist David Aix wrote on June 27 that Russian forces may have lost the entire elite 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade in the offensive launched in May against the town of Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
Summary: Whenever the Ukrainian side claims to have destroyed the elite units of the Russian army, these troops will appear on the battlefield again in a short time, I don't know if the Russian army is rebuilding fast, or the Ukrainian army is blowing a little big, you must know that an elite paratrooper unit can not be trained in a few months, and when the battle is fought, all that is left is to fight the mouth artillery.