In Russia, Paratroopers Defeated By AFU Near Hostomel Now Refuse to Fight

Their brigade may be disbanded.

Writer and supporter of the Donetsk terrorists Zakhar Prilepin came up with an idea to paint a mural on the main street of Russian Ulyanovsk, designed to perpetuate the participation of the airborne brigade in the Ukrainian war, in particular in the battles for the Antonov airport in Hostomel. The mural did appear, but they portrayed the most abstract military men on it — the authorities have a serious conflict with the real participants in the war, interlocutors familiar with the situation in the 31st brigade told “We can explain”. The problems are so serious that they started talking about its imminent disbandment.

After the battles for Hostomel, the brigade was transferred to the “LPR”, in May it participated in the battles for Severodonetsk. And one of the fighters received the highest award: it became known that the “Hero of Russia” title was awarded posthumously to Captain Adam Khamkhoev, the nephew of Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. Khamkhoev died on May 21. The case of Khamkhoev is one of the few public awards for a fighter of the 31st separate airborne brigade.

“The bosses in the brigade always treated the guys and their wives badly. Almost nothing was reported about the dead and wounded. After the battles for Hostomel, the paratroopers were given a short vacation in the Belgorod region. No one had time to really relax and recover,” says one of the interlocutors of the publication.

In the “LPR”, the brigade suffered heavy losses. According to Mediazona's estimates, as of June 1, 52 people died in the brigade. According to one of our sources, the losses are one hundred more, more than 400 paratroopers were wounded.

In one of the companies, from which 25 people remained alive and not wounded, at least 10 military men wrote a letter of resignation, but no approval has been signed, the source of the publication says. Many other of their colleagues who returned from the Donbas have also applied for resignation.

“The command persuades the refuseniks, intimidates them, calling them traitors to the Motherland, tells them that if you write a report, then this, of course, is a criminal case. But the military men believe that they are ordinary employees. No war has been declared, a special operation is underway. Why can't they quit? Wives are looking for ways to take their husbands out,” the source continues.

Ukrainian military intelligence posted the interception of a conversation between a soldier and his wife. In it, he reports that one of the commanders of the 31st brigade, Colonel Matkovsky, surrendered 76 of his own colleagues.

Another reason for the mass desire to quit is low pay. Combat payments for soldiers and sergeants rarely exceed 100-150 thousand Russian rubles per month. Although in the publicized advertising of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which is available, including in Ulyanovsk, the amounts for contract soldiers are called from 220 thousand Russian rubles.

“Many in the brigade speak badly about the commanders. That they were sent to where the Armed Forces were. They don’t understand why they took objects with such difficulty and losses, and then they were ordered to leave them,” said the source of the publication.

The authorities persuade even the wounded, including the disabled, to return to duty. True, they are promised that they will remain in the back. According to our interlocutor, mostly pre-pensioners and young people agree, explaining that no one needs them in civilian life. Difficulties with dismissal are also experienced by those whose contract expires.

Cases of mass layoffs due to the war in Ukraine in the Russian army are not isolated. In March, 300 Dagestan servicemen from military unit 63354 left Ukraine without permission. In April, Mikhail Afanasyev, editor of the New Focus publication, reported on 11 Russian National Guard refuseniks from Khakassia. In July, a board of shame appeared on the territory of the 205th separate motorized rifle Cossack brigade in Budennovsk with portraits and names of the military personnel of the unit who refused to participate in the special operation.