The deputy commander of the 47th Mechanized Brigade accused the 225th Regiment of shelling Ukrainian troops
The former battalion commander of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Magura,” Oleksandr Shyrshyn, stated that in the spring of 2025, in the Belgorod region, his soldiers were killed by artillery fire from the 225th Separate Assault Regiment. According to the officer, he tried to stop the shelling but was unsuccessful. The 225th Regiment had previously denied accusations of firing on its own troops.
Alexander Shirsin, former commander of the “Magura” battalion of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, with the call sign “Genius,” stated that in April 2025, during fighting in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, his subordinates were killed as a result of shelling by troops of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment. He wrote about this on July 31 on his Facebook page.
According to Shyrshyn, the incident occurred at night as a group of Ukrainian soldiers was withdrawing from their positions toward their exit point. He claims that soldiers from the 225th Regiment directed artillery fire specifically at this group. “I asked what had happened. I tried to clarify whether it was definitely the enemy. I tried to explain that the enemy couldn’t possibly be moving so confidently with such a group at night in this area. Everything indicated that these were our soldiers,” Shyrshyn wrote.
According to him, he repeatedly tried to stop the strikes, but was unable to do so. When dawn broke, the soldier says, it became clear that Ukrainian defenders had come under fire. “It’s starting to get light… and I see that my men and soldiers from the 225th have been killed… I spent a long time trying to figure out if it really was a mistake, because, unfortunately, that’s how it goes in war. But the more I analyzed and verified the information, the more convinced I became that this was a deliberate attempt to eliminate the ‘deserters.’ A month and a half after the incident, I received a message saying, ‘There are no “our own” here,’” the former battalion commander stated.
The statement came after an investigation into the 225th Regiment
Shirshin’s post appeared the day after the release of an investigation by war correspondent Anna Kalyuzhna, which was published on July 30 by Texty.org.ua. In the article, the journalist compiled testimonies from servicemen of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment, fighters from neighboring units, and relatives of soldiers who went missing in action.
They described alleged violations of soldiers’ rights, including beatings, unlawful detention in a so-called “pit,” and being tied to the “tree of truth” as punishment for disciplinary violations. According to the journalist’s sources, such incidents may have occurred between 2025 and 2026. The investigation also states that, according to sources, decisions regarding the evacuation of the wounded were made by the regiment’s command, not by medical personnel.
Separately, the author released an audio recording in which a person with a voice resembling that of the regiment commander, Major Oleg Shiryaev, says that regarding soldiers who leave their positions without orders, “there are no ‘one of us’,” and calls those who retreat “deserters.”
What the regiment commander said
Oleg Shiryaev, commander of the 225th OSHP, denied in a comment to Texty.org.ua that these words constituted an order to fire on his own troops. According to him, the statement referred to the rules of engagement between different units and the need to correctly identify soldiers, since Russian sabotage groups could be operating under the guise of Ukrainian fighters.
Back on July 29, the command of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment issued an official statement in which it also rejected accusations regarding the existence of so-called “blocking detachments.”
The regiment explained the events near Hulyaypole in the fall of 2025, when, according to them, assault troops were deployed to stabilize the situation after territorial defense units lost control. “The Territorial Defense Forces infantry remained at their positions without communication, without an understanding of the situation, and without command. As a result, 781 Territorial Defense Forces servicemembers abandoned their positions without authorization,” the regiment stated.
They also emphasized that their soldiers acted in accordance with regulations. “First, they issued a verbal command to stop, then fired warning shots into the air, after which they detained and disarmed the soldiers to hand them over to the Military Law Enforcement Service. No Troops of Operational Support soldier was injured as a result of so-called ‘friendly fire.’ Therefore, any claims regarding blocking detachments are untrue,” the command stated.
What is known about the 225th Regiment
The 225th Separate Assault Regiment was deployed with the support of the then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. The unit was formed in the spring of 2022 based on a separate battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade. Its soldiers took part in battles for Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Chasiv Yar.
Starting in August 2024, the regiment carried out missions during the Kursk Operation as one of the units leading the breakthrough. After its completion, it became one of the key units advancing into the Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation. Currently, the 225th Separate Assault Regiment is holding positions in the Huliaipole sector of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
So far, no official response to Oleksandr Shyrshyn’s statement has been released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or law enforcement agencies. The circumstances described by the soldier have not been independently confirmed. He reported this on Facebook on July 31.
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