234th Guards Air Assault Regiment

{{Infobox military unit

|unit_name = 234th St. Aleksandr Nevsky Guards Black Sea Order of Kutuzov Air Assault Regiment

|image = Sleeve patch of the 234th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment.svg

|image_size = 200

|caption = 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment shoulder sleeve insignia

|dates = 1946{{endash}}present

|country = {{flagcountry|Soviet Union}}
(1946–1991)
{{flagcountry|Russia}}
(1991–present)

|allegiance =

|branch = {{Russia airborne troops branch}}

|type =

|role =

|size = Regiment

|command_structure = 76th Guards Air Assault Division

|current_commander = Colonel A “Uran” Rokossovsky

|garrison = Pskov
{{MUN}}74268

|march =

|mascot =

|battles = Second Chechen War
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Russian invasion of Ukraine

|decorations = Order of Kutuzov

|native_name = {{langx|ru|234-й гвардейский десантно-штурмовой Черноморский ордена Кутузова 3-й степени полк имени Святого Александра Невского}}

}}

The 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment is a formation of the Russian Airborne Forces. It is part of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division.

History

The regiment was formed on 7 June 1946 in Novgorod as the 234th Guards Air-Landing Regiment of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division. In 1947, its garrison was moved to Pskov. In 1949 it was converted into an airborne regiment.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/vdv/234gvpdp.htm|title=234th Guards Parachute Regiment|last=Holm|first=Michael|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=2022-10-28}}

=Operations=

In 2014, the regiment was involved in the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.{{Cite web|url=https://informnapalm.org/en/conscripts-of-russian-234th-airborne-assault-regiment-awarded-for-occupation-of-crimea/|date=25 November 2018|access-date=2022-10-28|title=Conscripts of Russian 234th Airborne Assault Regiment Awarded for Occupation of Crimea}} It fought in the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The unit has lost several of its senior leadership in the war including Regiment Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Igor Zharov{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-russian-officer-elite-decimated-9-who-were-killed-in-combat-2022-3?r=US&IR=T|date=2022-05-01|access-date=2022-12-14|title=How the Russian officer elite is being decimated in Ukraine – 27 generals and commanders who were killed in action}} and Regiment Deputy Commander Lieutenant Colonel Aleksey Afonin.{{Cite web|url=https://topcargo200.com/392/|website=www.topcargo200.com|title=Aleksey Afonin|date=2022-09-04|access-date=2022-12-14}} In September 2024, a Ukrainian drone strike on a site in Glushkovsky District, Kursk Oblast killed Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kurin, the commander of the regiment.{{Cite web|url=https://112.ua/en/velika-vtrata-dla-vdv-na-kursini-zsu-likviduvali-komandira-desantno-sturmovogo-polku-rosian-40952|title=A Great Loss for the Airborne Forces.|website=www.112.ua|date=22 September 2024|access-date=30 May 2025}}

=Bucha massacre=

The Bucha massacre was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically the killing dozens of innocent civilians on Yablunska Street.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/bucha-war-crimes-military-units/31789259.html|date=2022-04-06|access-date=2022-10-28|title=As Evidence Of War Crimes In Bucha Mounts, A Hunt For Russian Military Units}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/video/russia-ukraine-bucha-massacre-takeaways.html|title=The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha|date=2022-12-22|access-date=2022-12-22}} Photographic and video evidence of the massacre emerged on 1 April 2022 after Russian forces withdrew from the city.

On 22 December 2022, The New York Times published the results of their investigation of the massacre. The eight-month visual investigation by the paper concluded that the perpetrators of the massacre along Yablunska Street were Russian paratroopers from the 234th Air Assault Regiment (part of 76th Guards Air Assault Division) led by Col. Rokossovsky.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/video/russia-ukraine-bucha-massacre-takeaways.html|title=Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 December 2022|access-date=9 June 2024}}

= Organization (from 2017) =

Regiment HQ
1st Airborne Assault Battalion
2nd Airborne Assault Battalion
Parachute battalion
Self-propelled artillery division
Anti-tank battery
Anti-tank battery of self-propelled anti-tank guns
Anti-aircraft battery
Reconnaissance company
Engineer-sapper company
Communications company
Airborne support company
Logistics company
Repair company
NBC Protection platoon

1,760 personnel, armed with: 108 BMD units (28 BMD-4 units, 5 BMD-3 units, 75 BMD-2 units), 42 BTR-D units, 1 BMD-1R unit, 7 KShM units (6 BMD-1KSh units, 1 R-149BMRD unit), 6 BTR-RD "Robot" units (with 9K113 "Konkurs" ATGM), 9 BTR-ZD "Skrezhet" units (with ZU-23-2 and MANPADS), 10 units 1V119 "Rheostat" units, 24 units 2S9 "Nona-S" units, 6 units 2S25 "Sprut-SD" units.

In literature

The regiment is referenced in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising, where it takes part in Operation Polar Glory, the Soviet invasion of Iceland. In the book, the regiment travels hidden in the cargo hold of the merchant ship MV Yulius Fuchik.Clancy, Tom. Red Storm Rising, Chapter 13.

References

Category:Regiments of the Russian Airborne Troops

Category:Military units and formations established in 1946

Category:Airborne units and formations of the Soviet Union

Category:Military units and formations of Russia in the war in Donbas