More revelations about Ukraine’s army have emerged. This time it’s the 225th assault regiment, the 10,000 troop unit whose commander Zelensky awarded the medal Hero of Ukraine. It turns out that the 225th, which so often came into the news for its role in the 2024 Kursk operation or liberating x village, also regularly executes deserters. There are reports it rapes violators of discipline with sticks. Others are beaten to death, or left amidst feces in a ‘pit’. Some commanders say it loses 1,000 men a week. Its commander, Oleg Shiraev, has a long and remarkable history in both ultranationalist and pro-Russian paramilitary groups, as well spending time in jail for extortion and organized crime. He does not dispute the veracity of an audio file in which he orders subordinates to shoot deserters.
Over the past day, some events have transpired indicating that the assault forces, which count 50,000 men in their ranks, may be less privileged under the new commander-in-chief, Mikhailo Drapaty. However, those expecting a total deconstruction of this branch of the army are likely to be disappointed. After all, the western media consumers are just delighted when they hear about all the grand successes achieved by these ‘ultra-motivated’ units.
100s or 1000s
“I am a hero of Ukraine! I put a thousand people under the ground in one week!” - a phrase that was uttered at a banquet of generals and ‘respectable’ individuals.
These are the approximate losses of the 225th assault regiment on one of the fronts.
This was tweeted yesterday by Oleksandr Shirshin, former battalion commander in the 47th brigade. He fought alongside the 225th assault regiment during Ukrainian attempts to gain territory in Russia’s Belgorod oblast in early 2025. The counterattacks were entirely fruitless, and Shirshin recently told journalists that assault units often lost 90% of their troops in endless, poorly-planned and unsuccessful offensive operations.
Stories of the massive losses taken by the assault units aren’t new. In late 2025, the prominent (former) commander of the 12th Azov Brigade Bohdan Krotevych complained about how assault units lose far more men than Azov, but are also given far more men:
Officers from various units say that some commanders of these regiments don't hesitate to say things like: 'I'll put 100 in the ground today, and tomorrow they'll give me another 100.’
We learned even more about the methods of the assault forces in a long article by texty .org yesterday. This publication represents the liberal nationalist, western-grant-fed sector of Ukrainian politics. Texty supports Mikhailo Fedorov, the defense minister Zelensky recently fired, and often criticizes Oleksandr Syrsky, who was commander-in-chief until his dismissal last week.
Texty’s new article wasn’t about the now-infamous 425th assault regiment, whose systematic torture and executions were covered recently by Babel, a publication closely allied to Texty. Texty’s article was about the 225th. While the 425th is the largest assault units, with 13,000 troops, the 225th, has around 10,000 troops and 15 battalions under its command.
Killing the deserters
The centrepiece of the article was an audio recording of General Oleg Shiraev, commander of the 225th regiment.
"Commanders, attention. Regarding our own troops, let me remind you: there is no such thing as 'our own.' The only thing that exists is a specific radio request for 'permission to move.' Everything else is the enemy. Anyone who is moving is the enemy. Anyone running from positions—deserters—is also the enemy. Stick to this rule. As for our own men, anyone moving without authorization... And, for fuck's sake, hold the line, because otherwise you could end up retreating all the way to Kyiv. So stop retreating, removed."
Shiraev sent this to subordinate officers during the later phases of Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk oblast, when the Ukrainians were constantly taking losses, ultimately forced to flee in the spring of 2025. Shiraev, as you can see, was never a big fan of retreating.
In his public response to the recording, Shiraev did not dispute the veracity of the file. Instead, he ‘contextualized’ it by claiming that Russian troops often infiltrated Ukrainian lines dressed as civilians or Ukrainian troops. Not many believed his justification.
Just a few hours ago, ex-commander Oleksandr Shirshin of the 47th wrote about his experience of the 225th’s blocking detachments:
Shirshin
April 2025. Night.
I was jolted awake by frantic calls over the operations radio.
The 225th was directing our artillery onto a group moving quickly from our positions toward the exit route.
I asked what had happened. I asked whether they were certain it was the enemy. I tried to explain that the enemy could not possibly be moving that confidently, in such a group, at night, in that sector. Everything indicated that they were our own soldiers.
Nothing got through. All I heard were shouting and the continued artillery strikes against the group.
Dawn began to break...
And I saw that the dead were my men, along with soldiers from the 225th.
For a long time I tried to determine whether it had really been a mistake, because that does happen in war, unfortunately. But the more I analyzed and verified the information, the more convinced I became that it had been the deliberate elimination of “retreaters.”
A month and a half after the incident, I received a recording saying:
The term ‘our own’ doesn’t exist.”
Shyriaiev would go on to repeat this principle several more times, in veiled form, during interviews and meetings. And those around him would continue to look the other way—and that has continued to this day.
P.S. After my men were killed, their sergeants and comrades demanded answers and justice—justice that I was unable to provide under those circumstances. The sergeants then had to endure the curses and tears of the families as they tried to tell them the story of their loved one’s “heroic death.”
Texty assembles testimony from a number of veterans of the 225th who confirm that deserters were often shot. Transported to the front under the barrel of a gun, the troops of the 225th were constantly verbally abused and told that any attempts to retreat would lead to their death.
The sun whorshipers are tacky.