Storm Ossetia () is a North Ossetian militia in service to the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

raised from volunteers from

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

History

On 11 June 2023, it was reported that volunteer units made up a portion of the Russian front line during the

2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...

, including Storm Ossetia, as well as another North Ossetian unit "Alania", and two Russian units "Crimea" and "

Sarmat Sarmat may refer to: * RS-28 Sarmat, a Russian missile * Sarmat, a historical region of Bulga, Ethiopia * , a Russian ship in 1904 and 1905; see ''Vandal'' (tanker) * Sarmato (), a comune in Piacenza, Italy * Pseudonym of Russian writer Kazim ...

." These units were tasked with holding the front-line around the village of

Lobkove Lobkove () is a village in southern Ukraine, administratively located in Stepnohirsk settlement hromada, Vasylivka Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The population is 14 people. Lobkove is located from the regional center Zaporizhzhia City, an ...

, but were unable to do so, retreating to pre-prepared positions and leaving the village in Ukrainian hands. The unit was then tasked to hold the village of

Piatykhatky Piatykhatky () can refer to one of several inhabited localities in Ukraine: * Piatykhatky, a city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast * Piatykhatky, a historic neighborhood in Kharkiv * Piatykhatky, a village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast {{SIA, populated pl ...

just south of Lobkove. The unit was able to hold onto the village for five days, repelling two attempts by Ukrainian forces to storm their positions. However, their position was deemed untenable and were given orders to retreat again to other pre-prepared positions. During the chaos of the retreat out of Piatykhatky on 19 June, the unit found itself encircled by the advancing Ukrainian forces. The 300-man battalion was reported to have been "liquidated" to the last fighter, including their deputy commander Ayvengo Tekhov. The unit's

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

account denied the unit took any casualties, and re-posted old photos of the unit as "proof." However, Russian officials held a memorial for the unit in

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

, where they mourned the unit which decided to stand “to the last.” The battalion's remnants, mostly consisting of their officers, support and media team were absorbed into the "Alania" volunteer battalion, which Storm Ossetia had fought alongside during the counteroffensive. On January 5 2025, the HUR issued a report claiming that the Ukrainian Kraken Unit killed the chief of staff of the Battalion,

Sergei Melnikov Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honour of Saint Sergius, or in Kyivan Rus', of Sergius of the Holy Caves ...

, and his driver using drones along the Vasylivka-

Tokmak Tokmak (, ) is a small city in Polohy Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in south-central Ukraine. It stands on the Tokmak River, a tributary of the Molochna. It is the administrative centre of the Tokmak urban hromada, and was the centre of the T ...

highway in

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

Commanders

* Ayvengo Tekhov (, 1991-2023). * Sergei Melnikov (2023-2024).

References

{{reflist Pro-Russian militant groups Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2022 2022 establishments in Russia People from North Ossetia–Alania Military units and formations disestablished in 2023