Russia's Arctic Brigade 'Decimated' in Dnieper Estuary Clashes: Report

Large numbers of Russian troops recruited from prisons to fight in the war in Ukraine have been killed in clashes on islands occupied by Moscow's forces in the Dnieper estuary and Black Sea, according to reports.

Soldiers recruited under the 80th Arctic Motorized Rifle Brigade, which was created in 2014 to protect Russian territories bordering Norway and Finland as part of the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command, have "disappeared" from the islands at the mouth of the Dnieper River near Ukraine's Kherson region, relatives said, independent Russian news outlet Okno reported.

The Russian Arctic brigade is reported to have been "decimated" in Ukrainian attacks, "suffering as much as 80% casualties," the X (formerly Twitter) account of Chris O'Wiki, a military analyst who posts about the war, said, sharing the latest reports.

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the reports and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Irina Ivanovna, whose 36-year-old son Konstantin joined the unit from a Russian prison, told the publication that he disappeared this spring while fighting in Ukraine. He stopped communicating with her on April 27, she said.

"I called the military unit and was told that 80% of the brigade had been killed or wounded. A boy who served with my son was wounded in the stomach... on April 29, I was given a document that he was missing in action. They say that when Kherson is liberated, then they will search these islands," she said.

Ivanovna said that while she was happy when she found out her son was going to fight in Ukraine, she is now worried because he is currently "missing in action."

"We don't know if he's alive or dead: neither here nor there," she said.

Another Russian soldier recruited to join the brigade last year from prison, 37-year-old Sergei Romantsov from Severodvinsk, was deployed to the same region in April but disappeared after just weeks, his family said.

"From [prison] he went to war. We had a row about it. I told him: no need, it's a one-way ticket. He only had two years left to serve, it's crazy to sign a contract. He called and said he was going. Without explaining the reasons," his sister, Nina, said.

"He was appointed a [boat pilot]. They get into boats at night, go on missions, pick up the wounded," she said. "At the end of April, he called and said that he had undergone a baptism of fire. And a week later, he disappeared."

"On 1 May, he was still alive, what happened next is unknown. I found out that his boat was hit: either by a shell or a drone. There were survivors, many were killed," she said, adding that the islands are now "completely under the control of Ukraine."

"No one wants to go there—it's certain death," she added. "The bodies that were left there, will most likely remain there. It's impossible to get there....As far as I understand, they were simply sent to be butchered."

Ukraine has launched regular raids across the Dnieper River following its successful liberation of the city of Kherson and the west bank of the river toward the end of 2022. Kyiv's troops reached the occupied side of the Dnieper in mid-October 2023 after extensive cross-river operations.

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