Ukrainian Paratroopers Kill Two Russian Battalion Commanders During Zaporizhzhia Counteroffensive

The units of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated two Russian battalion commanders during the counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Major General Oleh Apostol, commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, reported about this in an interview.

According to him, during the advance Ukrainian units reached the enemy’s rear defensive fortifications located 7–8 kilometers from the line of combat contact.

As Apostol added, the Russian battalion commander did not realize that Ukrainian soldiers were in front of him, so he calmly moved in their direction and waved his hand.

At that moment, he was being monitored by the crew of a reconnaissance drone, and the moment of the elimination itself was captured on camera.

The elimination of battalion commanders remains an important mission for destabilizing and undermining the command and control of enemy units.

Thus, in March 2025, reconnaissance troops of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment eliminated the deputy battalion commander of Russia’s 69th Guards Motor Rifle Division. The killed officer was Major Yuriy Lomkin, deputy commander of a battalion of the 83rd Guards Rifle Regiment (military unit 52034) of the 69th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Russian Armed Forces.