"Skelia" regiment has been transferred to operational subordination of "Azov"
The 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" has been placed under the operational command of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov."
Censor.NET reports this, citing the Azov press center.
Official Information
As noted, during August, several battalions of the "Skelia" unit, along with the regiment headquarters, were redeployed to the sector of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov" and successfully carried out their combat missions to clear enemy infiltrators from the brigades' defense sectors.
"It is worth noting the improvement in operational discipline and the minimization of casualties during combat missions. The relocation and consolidation of the regiment's scattered forces in a single sector of the front are currently underway," Azov emphasizes.
The Combat History of "Skelia"
It is also noted that the combat history of the "Skelia" Regiment includes many notable achievements. The unit’s servicemembers have repeatedly demonstrated courage and resilience, carrying out extremely difficult missions while conducting offensive and defensive operations in the most challenging sectors of the front.
"The Azov culture emphasizes placing the utmost importance on training personnel and maintaining a high level of motivation among the fighters. The Azov Corps will do everything possible to pass on its experience to the command and fighters of the "Rock" regiment, as well as our values and principles, which will help the regiment continue to effectively carry out its assigned tasks while preserving the lives and health of its personnel," Azov added.
Charges Against "Skelia"
- On June 23, the publication "Babel" reported that from late 2025 through spring 2026, at least 26 recruits died in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia." Journalists reported that most of the men who died had not even spent a month in the regiment. The official cause of death in most cases was pneumonia.
- For this article, journalists interviewed more than 30 witnesses. One of them, Oleksandr Zhikin, spoke about "The Chicken Coop"—the informal name for the "Skelia" distribution point, which serves as the first stop for newly mobilized recruits. He ended up there after being issued a mobilization order while he was on his way to pick up medication for drug addiction treatment.
- Another anonymous source spoke about the punishment cells where soldiers were sent for refusing to carry out various orders.
- For its part, the "Skelia" regiment commented on the non-combat deaths of recruits and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. "Skelia" believes that the authors of the article are making "generalizations that reduce the unit’s history to isolated tragic incidents." The regiment asserts that 18 of the 26 deaths mentioned in the article occurred in the hospital or on the way there, and that the causes were related to "illnesses or the generally poor health of the conscripts."
- The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) had previously announced that it had launched an investigation into alleged violations at "Skelia," which are being investigated as abuses of power or official authority committed under martial law, resulting in serious consequences.
- The Monitoring Group of the Ombudsman's Office stated that it will travel to the site to verify reports of possible torture of military personnel in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia".
- The 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" has confirmed that 25 recruits have died.
- The report that there are 2,000 drug-addicted service members in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" is not true.
- "Skelya" also commented on new information from the publication "Babel" regarding seven more of its service members who died during basic military training. The command emphasized that it is striving to "reduce to zero" non-combat casualties.
