the commander of the 31st Ulyanovsk air assault brigade died – Kommersant

Deputy head of the Russian Guard department for the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Khodakovsky, said that during the fighting in Ukraine, the commander of the 31st Ulyanovsk Airborne Assault Brigade, Colonel Andrei Kondrashkin, with the call sign “Danube,” was killed.

“While we were fighting hand in hand, we became friends with Andrei, and today we were deeply hurt by the news of his death. We offer our condolences to his family and friends, his comrades in arms… I am sure that the wings of his airborne soul will quickly take him to the Throne of God, where he will sit and wait for us – we still need to work a little,” wrote Alexander Khodakovsky in Telegram channel.

Alexander Khodakovsky said that he met the commander of the paratroopers immediately after the capture of Mariupol, when Vostok was given new tasks and the battalion had to act together with the soldiers of the 31st Ulyanovsk Air Assault Brigade.

On the website of the Ministry of Defense it says, that based on the results of 2017, the Ulyanovsk air assault brigade was recognized as the best among the air assault formations of the Russian Airborne Forces. According to media reports, the brigade took part in the battles for Gostomel.

Open sources say that Andrei Kondrashkin also commanded the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade. In a 2020 interview, he said that he participated in three armed conflicts.

Anastasia Larina