Who Is Behind the Oleshky Blockade? Investigation Names Russian Commanders and Units

Ukrainian investigative journalists have identified two Russian military units and several commanders who may be linked to the blockade of temporarily occupied Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region, where around 2,000 civilians remain with severely restricted access to food, medicine, electricity, and gas.

According to an investigation by Slidstvo.Info published on September 29, personnel from Russia’s 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet and the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment are operating in and around the Oleshky community.

The outlet said commanders of the two formations may be connected to the conditions that have prevented regular humanitarian supplies from reaching residents.

Oleshky, located about nine kilometers from the city of Kherson on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River, has been under Russian control since the opening days of the full-scale invasion. Its pre-war population of more than 24,000 has fallen to around 2,000, including approximately 50 children, according to regional authorities.

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War in Ukraine

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Slidstvo.Info identified the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade as one of the Russian formations currently operating on the Kherson front as part of Russia’s Dnipro grouping of forces.

The brigade is based in Perevalne in temporarily occupied Crimea and was formed in 2014 partly from personnel of Ukraine’s former 36th Coastal Defense Brigade who joined Russian forces following Russia’s occupation of the peninsula.

The investigation found Russian material identifying Colonel Oleg Aleksandrov as commander of the 126th Brigade as of May 2025. However, Slidstvo.Info noted that it could not establish whether he remains in command. An independent OSINT project cited by the outlet currently lists 43-year-old Konstantin Kochetkov as the brigade’s commander.

The second formation identified by investigators is the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment, part of Russia’s 98th Guards Airborne Division. According to Slidstvo.Info, personnel from the regiment are currently deployed in the occupied part of the Kherson region, including around the Oleshky community.

The regiment is commanded by 40-year-old Oleg Morozov, call sign “Kholod,” according to information published by Kostroma regional governor Sergei Sitnikov and cited by the investigation. Morozov was appointed to the position in August 2025 after previously serving as chief of staff and deputy commander of Russia’s 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade.

The 331st Regiment has operated in Ukraine for years. Slidstvo.Info reported that its personnel were involved in the killing of Ukrainian troops leaving encirclement near Ilovaisk through the so-called “green corridor” in 2014.

The investigation comes as Ukrainian authorities continue to report severe shortages in Oleshky. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in May that Russian forces were blocking evacuations and obstructing deliveries of food, medicine, and other basic supplies to communities on the occupied left bank of the Kherson region.

The ministry said electricity and gas supplies were unavailable and estimated Oleshky’s population had declined from about 24,000 before the full-scale invasion to roughly 2,000.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on drones to deliver supplies across the Dnipro. On September 27, Ukrainian forces delivered approximately four tons of food to 100 locations across Oleshky, according to Kherson Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. The operation involved several Ukrainian military, National Guard, and border guard units.

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