| Unit Name: | 234th St. Aleksandr Nevsky Guards Black Sea Order of Kutuzov Air Assault Regiment |
| Dates: | 1946present |
| Country: | (1946–1991) (1991–present) |
| Size: | Regiment |
| Command Structure: | 76th Guards Air Assault Division |
| Current Commander: | Colonel Artyom “Uran” Gorodilov |
| Garrison: | Pskov 74268 |
| Battles: | Second Chechen War Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Decorations: | Order of Kutuzov |
| Native Name: | Russian: 234-й гвардейский десантно-штурмовой Черноморский ордена Кутузова 3-й степени полк имени Святого Александра Невского |
The 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment is a formation of the Russian Airborne Forces. It is part of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division.
The regiment was formed on 7 June 1946 in Novgorod as the 234th Guards Air-Landing Regiment of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division. In 1947, its garrison was moved to Pskov. In 1949 it was converted into an airborne regiment.[1]
In 2014, the regiment was involved in the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[2] It fought in the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The unit has lost several of its senior leadership in the war including Regiment Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Igor Zharov[3] and Regiment Deputy Commander Lieutenant Colonel Aleksey Afonin.[4]
See main article: Bucha massacre. The Bucha massacre was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. specifically killing dozens of innocent civilians on Yablunska Street.[5] [6] Photographic and video evidence of the massacre emerged on 1 April 2022 after Russian forces withdrew from the city.
On 22 December 2022, The New York Times published the results of their investigation of the massacre. The eight-month visual investigation by the paper concluded that the perpetrators of the massacre along Yablunska Street were Russian paratroopers from the 234th Air Assault Regiment (part of 76th Guards Air Assault Division) led by Lt. Col. Artyom Gorodilov.[7]
1,760 personnel, armed with: 108 BMD units (28 BMD-4 units, 5 BMD-3 units, 75 BMD-2 units), 42 BTR-D units, 1 BMD-1R unit, 7 KShM units (6 BMD-1KSh units, 1 R-149BMRD unit), 6 BTR-RD "Robot" units (with 9K113 "Konkurs" ATGM), 9 BTR-ZD "Skrezhet" units (with ZU-23-2 and MANPADS), 10 units 1V119 "Rheostat" units, 24 units 2S9 "Nona-S" units, 6 units 2S25 "Sprut-SD" units.
The regiment is referenced in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising, where it takes part in Operation Polar Glory, the Soviet invasion of Iceland. In the book, the regiment travels hidden in the cargo hold of the merchant ship MV Yulius Fuchik.[8]