Russia’s 331st Guards Parachute Regiment is considered 'the best of the best', but Newsnight's diplomatic editor MarkUrban01 has been tracing the casualties as the unit battles through Ukraine.
In any war, there are units that distinguish themselves and others that become symbolic of failure. The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment had high hopes of being the first, but now represents the disintegration of Russia's plan for a quick war.
The men were part of a column that advanced into Ukraine from Belarus, led by Russia's airborne forces, known by the acronym VDV. Their presence underlined the priority of their objective - advancing on the capital, Kyiv. The men in the 331st regarded themselves as the pick of Russia's army. In a video posted online last May, a general tells soldiers of the 331st Parachute Regiment that they are "the best of the best". The unit served in the Balkans, Chechnya, and the 2014 Russian intervention in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and regularly took part in Red Square parades in Moscow.contraktniki
As the funerals started, an anguished conversation began playing out on social media. Memorial walls on V'Kontakte - the Russian equivalent of Facebook - pledge "eternal memory" and feature pictures of candles.The wife of Sergei Lobachyov mourns her "reliable, loving and caring husband" Her post was followed by another, which exclaimed: "Kostroma has lost so many young men, what a tragedy". Another pleaded: "God, how many more death notifications shall we receive? Please have mercy on our boys, help them survive, return them back home to their wives and mothers. I'm begging you!"Yanosh Leonov's partner writes: You are a real hero, you are the best father, a loved and loving husband, a loyal friend and a real fighter.
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