ZELENOGORSK PRAVDA
"Truth in Service of the Nation"
Senior Defense Correspondent Svetlana Golikova Reports on Three Battles That Defined the Regiment
ZELENOGORSK — In the frozen villages of the Ivanovka region, the men of the Chernarus 31st Separate Air Assault Regiment lived through every soldier's nightmare—and then they did something remarkable.
They learned.
Zelenogorsk Pravda has obtained the classified after-action report for three consecutive operations conducted in late February and early March: Troitskoye, Ryakovo, and Belorovka. Together, they tell a story of catastrophic failure, rapid adaptation, and ultimately, the rescue of innocent civilians from the hands of an enemy that showed them no mercy.
PART I: TROITSKOYE — 'THE TANKS COMPLETELY SHOT US UP'
It began as a probe.
Intelligence from local agents, drone overflights, and intercepted communications had revealed that separatist forces were planning to push their front line southward by three to four kilometers. But first, they needed to know exactly where our defenses were positioned. Their chosen instrument was the village of Troitskoye.
"Past experiences at Troitskoye had shown that the enemy wanted to push their vehicles directly into town," the after-action report notes clinically. "But 2nd Battalion is primarily light infantry, so anti-tank weapons are not as effective."
The task force commander knew the risks. His plan was sound: transport helicopters would land 500 meters south of the village, infantry would advance, and six anti-tank teams would establish ambush positions for inbound enemy armor. Two Su-25 ground attack fighters and two Mi-24 gunships would provide support.
The enemy had other plans.
First came the infantry—multiple squads of special forces, including Wagner Group operators and Russian naval infantry. They were "highly motivated and prepared to breach the village's defensive cordon." Our rifle squads fought them back, driving them north with only moderate casualties.
Then came the armor.
"The separatists threw their armor, both wheeled and heavy tracked, into the village. Many of those vehicles were destroyed by infantry anti-tank teams, but three of them our forces were unable to stop."
Those three tanks changed everything.
"The tanks completely shot up our infantry deployment, inflicting catastrophic casualties on our forces."
When the smoke cleared, the task force had suffered approximately 90 percent infantry casualties and 90 percent helicopter losses. Battalion command had failed to make reinforcing infantry available—a decision that would be hotly debated in the aftermath.
"We lost good people and valuable equipment," Regimental Commander Major Vyacheslav Abyshkin would later write. "But the Regiment did not break."
PART II: RYAKOVO — MINES, LOGISTICS, AND HIT LISTS
The Regiment had less than 24 hours to process what had happened at Troitskoye before the next operation presented itself.
Intelligence staffs had been working through the night, tapping cell phones, debriefing agents, piecing together the enemy's next move. The separatists had taken over the village of Ryakovo. They were establishing a logistical base and reinforcing with armor.
This time, the Regiment would be ready.
Corps-level engineers attached a small unit to the infantry, equipped with anti-vehicle mines. Their instructions: plant mines along as many ingress routes as possible, causing mobility problems for heavy armor and outright kills for light wheeled vehicles.
The tactical plan called for troops to land in a straight line as close as possible within 500 meters, then penetrate the enemy's defensive cordon. All four rifle squads would then occupy north-facing positions and hold.
What happened next was almost lost before it began.
Two of the four transport birds were hit and shot down nearly immediately by enemy heavy tracked armor. The other two were seriously damaged and unable to continue.
But the four rifle squads had landed so close to the village—less than 250 meters for Command Squad—that they survived intact and began their penetration.
Command Squad advanced from the southwest, locating and eliminating two civilian criminal command operatives. In the process, they seized intelligence data that would send chills through the local population: a pair of hit lists targeting civilians.
As the infantry continued clearing the village, the commander marched his squad north. Their objective: enemy logistics. They found two ammunition vehicles and one fuel vehicle. All three were destroyed.
Before withdrawing, the commander moved to the main north-south road west of the area of operations and planted a series of M6 SLAM mines. Then he pulled his forces back into the village, established a defensive cordon, and awaited the counterattack that never came.
Battalion command ordered a withdrawal. The mission was complete.
PART III: BELOROVKA — 'TORTURED AND KILLED'
The third operation in the series was different from the start.
Intelligence on enemy deployment at Belorovka was light. But local friendly agents sent urgent messages: three, possibly four civilians were being held prisoner in the village by an enemy counterintelligence unit.
At the time, planning staffs did not know who the prisoners were or their importance.
They would learn soon enough.
One of the female prisoners was a village chief from a nearby settlement, arrested earlier that day along with her husband and her sister. A fourth prisoner—another woman—would be discovered by our forces having been tortured and killed.
The task force commander, having learned the brutal lesson of Troitskoye, ordered transport birds to land no closer than 500 meters from the village edge. The terrain around Belorovka enabled forces to penetrate the enemy defensive cordon effectively.
Along the way, the task force encountered several Wagner Group operators. They were cleared away efficiently. The remainder of the force moved into defensible positions within the village as Command Squad continued pushing north.
M6 SLAM mines were deployed. Enemy counterattacks, when they came, were scattered and light.
When the order came from battalion command to withdraw, the task force boarded their birds. There were zero losses among transport helicopters, zero losses among gunships. Infantry casualties were very light.
And the village chief, her husband, and her sister were alive.
The fourth prisoner—the one who had been tortured—was not.
THE LINE THEY HOLD
Today, our forces hold a thin line ranging from Belorovka to Ryakovo.
"It's not expected to hold in the coming weeks," the after-action report admits with brutal honesty.
But for the moment, it holds. And the civilians of those villages sleep in their own homes, not in separatist basements.
"The two air assault operations following the catastrophic Troitskoye operation were demonstrative of how flexible headquarters command and tactical command staffs are in wide-ranging operations," the report concludes.
'THIS IS WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE'
In his formal comments appended to the report, Regimental Commander Major Vyacheslav Abyshkin wrote words that deserve to be read by every citizen of Chernarus:
"The Troitskoye operation was a catastrophe. We lost good people and valuable equipment. But the Regiment did not break. Within days, we returned to Ryakovo and Belorovka and accomplished our missions with minimal losses.
"This is what adaptability looks like. This is what learning looks like.
"We have identified the failures at Troitskoye. They will not be repeated."
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Regiment's after-action report includes a series of recommendations:
Reinforce the Belorovka-Ryakovo line immediately
Expand minefields along enemy approaches
Maintain 500-meter minimum insertion distances when enemy armor is confirmed
Issue additional disposable anti-tank weapons to light infantry units
For the families of those lost at Troitskoye, the recommendations are cold comfort. For the villagers of Belorovka who now sleep safely, they are everything.
And for the enemy who thought they could push our lines south, who thought they could torture and kill civilians with impunity, the message is clear:
The 31st Separate Air Assault Regiment learned from catastrophe. They adapted. They came back.
And they will come again.
Contact Svetlana Golikova at s.golikova@zelenogorsk-pravda.chernarus
Editor's Note: Some operational details have been withheld or altered at the request of Chernarus Coastal Operations Group. The names of certain personnel and rescued civilians have been omitted to protect operational security and individual privacy.
