Russian military personnel from the 126th Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet and the 331st Guard Parachute Infantry Regiment may be involved in the blockade and humanitarian catastrophe in the city of Oleshky in the occupied part of the Kherson region.
This is stated in the investigation Slidstvo.Info.
Journalists have found out that the 126th Coastal Defense Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet is in the Kherson direction, in particular as part of the Russian group "Dnepr". Recently, Ukrainian fighters reported the destruction of several Russians from this brigade near Oleshky.
This Russian brigade was formed in 2014 from servicemen of the former Ukrainian 36th Coastal Defense Brigade, who defected to the Russian Federation after the occupation of Crimea. After the start of the full-scale war, the military brigades participated in hostilities in the Mykolaiv region, in particular, in the battles for Voznesensk.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, by mid-April 2022, the brigade had lost up to 75% of its personnel. At the same time, "for courage", the Russian authorities awarded it the title "Guards".
In one of the Russian Telegram channels, Slidstvo.Info found a mention of the brigade commander. As of May 2025, he was Colonel Oleg Alexandrov. Leaflets with the story of the “hero” were allegedly distributed to schoolchildren in Tver.
Russian propagandists call Alexandrov a “combat commander” who allegedly fought on the front lines.
Слідство.Інфо
At the same time, the independent OSINT project "Commanders of Failure" names Kostyantyn Kochetkov as the current commander of the 126th brigade.
Konstantin Kochetkov — left
Слідство.Інфо
Another Russian unit whose soldiers were discovered by the Slidstvo.Info in the Oleshky area is the 331st Guards Parachute Infantry Regiment from the 98th Division of the Russian Federation. This is an elite formation of the Russian airborne troops.
In 2014, soldiers from this very regiment shot Ukrainian fighters who were leaving Ilovaisk through the "green corridor".
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the 331st Regiment fought in the Kyiv region, the Svatyiv-Kreminsky and Bakhmut directions. In 2024 and early 2025 it participated in the battles at Chasiv Yar. According to journalists, some of its soldiers are currently in the occupied Kherson region.
The regimentʼs commander since August 2025 has been 40-year-old Oleg Morozov (call-sign “Kholod”). Before that, he was the chief of staff and deputy commander of the 83rd separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Federation, which — according to him — participated in the battles for Zhuravka in the Sumy region.
Скриншот з відео російського телеканалу
- On September 20, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that the Russians are deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the temporarily occupied left-bank Kherson region — blocking the delivery of food and medicine, hindering the work of humanitarian missions and the evacuation of civilians. At the same time, they are constantly attacking civilians with drones.
- The most difficult situation is currently in Oleshky. Before the full-scale invasion, about 24 000 people lived there, and now about 2000 remain, among them 50 children.
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