Russian failures in the “Elite” status of Dent airborne paratroopers in Ukraine

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Jul 28, 2022

Russia’s elite airborne force, the VDV, has been at the center of Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine.
The VDV struggled in Ukraine, where fighting claimed many casualties and damaged the unit’s reputation.

The struggles of the Russian army in Ukraine have seriously tarnished its reputation.

Despite qualitative and quantitative advantages, the Russians failed to achieve their main objectives, forcing the Kremlin to backtrack and change its strategic goals in the war.

The Russian army’s elite airborne force, the VDV, was at the center of the invasion which began on February 24, and its paratroopers suffered heavy casualties in several high-profile failures during the campaign.

One unit within the VDV, the 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, is considered elite in its own right and has taken heavy losses in Ukraine, including its commander, Colonel Sergei Sukharev, who was killed in mid-March.

An airfield too far

Russian paratroopers at Hostomel airport in Ukraine, March 12, 2022.

The Russian plan aimed to act with speed, surprise and violence. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisers envisioned a war that lasted 48 to 72 hours, captured major Ukrainian urban centers including Kyiv, and overthrew the Ukrainian government.

Airborne forces are ideal for such eventualities, as they are trained and equipped to fight with speed, surprise and aggression. Russian military commanders naturally turned to their VDV airborne forces to play a key role in the invasion of Ukraine.

One of the main Russian targets in the early hours of the invasion was Antonov Airport near the Ukrainian town of Hostomel, about 20 miles from Kyiv. VDV paratroopers carried out an aerial assault on the airport using about 30 helicopters.

At first they were able to capture it, but it was a short-lived victory, as a Ukrainian counterattack by special operations forces and conventional troops retook the airfield.

Antonov Airport to Hostomel Ukraine — Damaged buildings and burning fuel tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine on March 11, 2022

The objective of the attacking force in airborne operations, such as airfield seizures, is to extend the perimeter, or “airhead”, so that the defending force cannot strike the airfield with artillery, rockets and other indirect fire weapons, a former Green Beret officer who served in the 82nd Airborne Division told Insider.

“By doing so, you are allowing operations on the airfield to continue and reinforcements to flow in,” said the former officer, who requested anonymity because he is still working with the US government.

“Failing to extend the airhead in the first hours of an airfield grab is a disaster. You can use it as a feint to distract the enemy and divert their attention from another part of the battlespace , but that would also mean that you sacrifice the airborne force, which, by the way, are some of your most capable units,” the former Green Beret said. “Is the risk and the loss worth it? sadness ? That’s up to the commander and the operational situation to determine.”

During the attack on Hostomel, it appears that the Russian VDV forces failed to extend the airhead. They got stuck on the airfield and were unable to push back and prevent the Ukrainian forces from approaching the airstrip.

Armored vehicle of Russian paratroopers — Russian paratroopers in an armored vehicle at a checkpoint in the Kyiv region, March 2022.

Additionally, the Ukrainian defenders anticipated a Russian attempt to seize the airfield and had placed obstacles, such as buses and tractors, on the runways to prevent Russian transport planes from reinforcing the initial wave of VDV forces. .

Nor did the Russian commanders reinforce the paratroopers on the ground with additional airborne forces – a complete failure of doctrine.

The VDV forces, distinguished by the “V” markings on their vehicles, were involved in several other failures, suffering heavy casualties throughout the invasion.

In one case at the beginning of March, an entire VDV mechanized patrol was ambushed and destroyed by Ukrainian special operators in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin.

The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment was involved in fighting around Kyiv and its casualty estimates range from 39 soldiers, as recorded by the BBCto around 100, according to residents of the community where the unit is based.

Russian vs. American Airborne Forces

Dmitry Medvedev with Russian airborne paratroopers — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Airborne Troop Commander Vladimir Shamanov, third from right, meet with Airborne troops in Novorossiysk, Russia, July 14, 2009.

Distinguished by its troops’ white and blue striped shirts, called telnyashkas, and their blue berets, the VDV is an elite organization within the Russian armed forces.

It is a separate branch of the Russian military and is considered Moscow’s strategic reserve. When a contingency appears, the VDV is there. During the recent uprising in Kazakhstan, the VDV was one of the first Russian forces to be sent in, acting as what Moscow called peacekeepers.

The size and doctrinal role of the VDV differentiate it from airborne units of the United States and other Western armies.

In 2015, the commander of the Russian airborne troops, Colonel-General. Vladimir Shamanov, said this force would increase to 60,000 paratroopers in the coming years. These forces are divided into several divisions and brigades.

By comparison, the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division has fewer than 20,000 paratroopers. The 82nd Airborne is the United States Army’s only dedicated paratrooper unit, although other units, such as the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, conduct airborne operations.

Russian army special forces airborne paratrooper parachute — A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier assists a Russian paratrooper with a parachute before a joint exercise in Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 28, 1998.

The doctrinal role of the Russian airborne forces is also distinct from that of their American counterparts. Both formations are rapid response forces designed to quickly strike and capture key objectives, but the VDV forces are much more mechanized than US airborne units.

Russian VDV units sport tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and they use them often. During the fighting in Ukraine, the VDV lost T-72B tanks and BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicles, among other vehicles.

American paratroopers some mechanized abilities – like the LAV-25, a wheeled all-terrain armored infantry fighting vehicle – but far from what their Russian counterparts have.

VDV units are also designed to be more independent than their Western counterparts.

For example, in a conventional near-peer conflict, after seizing a target, the 82nd Airborne Division would rely on mechanized ground reinforcements to relieve them. As the VDV has an organic mechanized capability, it would not rely on other units to relieve them after seizing their objective.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a veteran of the Hellenic Army (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ) and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University.