Kremlin's Elite FSB Presidential Guard Sent To Chasiv Yar As Russian Attacks Fail

The Kremlin's Presidential Guard Regiment has been deployed to Ukraine for the first time since the invasion. 

It has been sent to Chasiv Yar, which Russia has been trying to capture for over a year but has repeatedly failed to do so. Deployment of the traditional honor guard unit is seen as a sign of faltering Russian offensive efforts at a time when the Kremlin is trying to impress the US with its military capabilities, but Russia is not believed to possess the armor, troops and reserves to achieve any breakthroughs. JL

Isabel Van Brugen reports in Newsweek:

Russia has deployed its elite FSB "Presidential Regiment" to Chasiv Yar. The regiment is assisting Russia's 98th Parachute Division in its efforts to seize the fortress, where fighting has been ongoing for more than a year. The deployment signals Russian forces are facing trouble in the area. The Regiment is "primarily responsible for honor guard duties at state functions, guarding Russian officials and the Kremlin." It has not been previously observed operating in Ukraine. "The Russian command's decision to deploy the Regiment to fight is part of an effort to portray Russian forces as elite and capable of achieving success in Ukraine but its forces lack the capacity to make significant battlefield advances.

Russia has deployed its elite FSB "Presidential Regiment" to protect the strategically important eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, according to Kyiv's military.

The regiment is assisting Russia's 98th Parachute Division in its efforts to seize the fortress town, where fighting has been ongoing for more than a year, according to Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Why It Matters

The town of Chasiv Yar, which had a pre-war population of more than 12,000, and is dissected by a canal, is located in the Donetsk region and has been the focus of Russia's military since March 2024.

Its strategic position has allowed Ukraine's forces to hold the town and deal heavy losses to advancing Russian troops.

 

Ukrainian servicemen prepare a drone for its flight toward the front line in the area of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine's Donetsk region on April 29, 2025. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images

What To Know

The regiment under Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, is "significantly strengthening" the Russian 98th Parachute Division in Chasiv Yar, Petrychak said.

"These are top-level specialists. Now we have to face very intense fighting, and very accurate and precise work," he said.

Petrychak suggested the deployment signals that Russian forces are facing some trouble in the area.

 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said Monday that the Presidential Regiment is "primarily responsible for fulfilling honor guard duties at state functions and guarding Russian officials, the Kremlin, and the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

"ISW has not previously observed the regiment operating in Ukraine. Russian state media reported in 2014 and 2016 that the unit is approximately the size of a motorized rifle brigade and is composed of conscripts and contract soldiers," the think tank said.

Fierce fighting is ongoing in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk—two regions largely under Russian occupation. The Kremlin has been pushing for the total capture of the two regions since Russia's covert intervention in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

The ISW said it assessed that Russian forces lack the capacity to make significant battlefield advances in the near future.

 

What People Are Saying

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Monday: "The Russian military command's decision to deploy the Presidential Regiment to fight in Ukraine is likely part of a larger Russian effort to intimidate Ukraine and the West through intensified battlefield activity and portray Russian forces as elite and fully capable of achieving significant successes in Ukraine in the near future.

"The Russian military command may also be trying to feed any manpower available into the Chasiv Yar area due to its apparent effort to prioritize offensive operations against Kostyantynivka in recent months."

What Happens Next

Fighting in Donetsk is expected to intensify as Russian forces continue their push to seize full control of the region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Putin to hold face-to-face bilateral peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday. The Kremlin hasn't confirmed whether the Russian president will attend the proposed meeting.

 

"President Zelensky will not meet with any other Russian representative in Istanbul, except Putin," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Tuesday.