We identified military men of the 17th Motorized Rifle Brigade (MRB) of Russian Army based in Chechnya who took part in combat operations in Donbas in the summer and fall of 2014.

InformNapalm international intelligence community continues a series of publications with the names and personal data of career servicemen of the Russian army who have been seen taking part in an undeclared war against Ukraine. Our materials feature both Russian servicemen who joined the ranks of the illegal armed formations of Novorossiya in 2015 and 2016, as well as officers and contract soldiers who took part in the initial phase of the Russian aggression in the Donbas in the summer and autumn of 2014.

One of the most frequently mentioned formations of the Russian army is the 17th MRB (military unit 65384) of the 58th Field Army of the Southern Military District, stationed in Shali, Chechnya. There is a lot of evidence about its “Ukrainian adventures”, including data on losses. However, few specific names of the Russian war criminals involved in the deaths of the defenders of Ukraine and civilians have been named.

Based on the results of a new OSINT investigation, four more servicemen of the 17th MRB were identified. As part of the battalion tactical group of this unit, they participated in the hostilities in the Donbas in 2014.

§  Stanislav Sergeyev

Born on 12/13/1987, in the town of Gusinoozersk, Buryatia. Contract soldier of the 17th MRB.Social media accounts: VK1 (archived profile, photos, contacts), VK2 (archived profile, photos, contacts).

Sergeyev’s photo albums (marked with a red arrow) contain a number of noteworthy photographs from the period of the Ukrainian deployment in 2014 posted in 2016. Including:

1. On the photo below he is in front of KamAZ trucks of the 17th MRB with tactical markings in the shape of white identification circles. We have recorded similar identification marks of this brigade during the invasion of Donbas in 2014 on other occasions.

2. On this photo three militants stand on the destroyed BTR-60. They spot all the attributes of “rebelious miners”: motley non-standard uniforms, white identification armbands.

3. On this photo four militants again pose as “rebellious miners”.

4. On this photo at the table, colleagues from the 17th MRB are equipped as the “militants of Novorossiya” (see the identification data of one of them below).

5. On this photo, Sergeyev poses with a colleague in the field camp of the tactical group of the 17th Brigade (see the identification data of the second military man below) .

§  Vadim Yaroslavtsev

  Born in 1990 (full date of birth not yet established), in Ulyanovsk. In 2013 he graduated from the Institute of Military Training (IMT) at Togliatti State University. Officer of the 17th MRB with the rank of Senior Lieutenant.

Social media accounts: VK (archived profile, photos, contacts), OK.

Yaroslavtsev is identified (marked with a blue arrow) in the photograph at the table above of Sergeyev.

§  Grigory Kovalchuk

Born on April 24, year unknown, in Adler. In 2014 he was a contract soldier of the 17th MRB.

Social media accounts: VK (archived profile, general photos, military service photos, contacts). Listed in the data base of war criminals of the Myrotvorets Center.

Kovalchuk’s photo albums (marked with a green arrow) contain a number of noteworthy photographs from the 2014 Ukrainian deployment which were uploaded same year. Including:

1. This photo of a convoy of the tactical group of the 17th MRB with tactical markings in the shape of white identification circles.

1. This photo from a field camp of Russian aggressors shows military men in motley non-standard uniforms.

3. This photo with a colleague in a treeline in non-standard uniform and with white identification bands on his legs (see identification data of the second man below).

4. In this photo with a colleague, Kovalchuk spots old-issue Russian uniform and a tactical stubble.

5. Here is a photo of Kovalchuk with the aforementioned Sergeyev in the field camp of the tactical group of the 17th Brigade.
6. This screenshot photo shows a stele in Shali, which records nine names of soldiers of the 17th MRB killed in action in the Donbas with the comment “… eternal memory!” …

§  Karen (Dzhaga) Shahlamjyan

Born in 1993 (full date of birth not yet established), in Sochi city. In 2014, he was a contract soldier of the 17th MRB.

He is perhaps the most cautious of the whole group. Social media accounts: OK (archived profile, photos, contacts). Fortunately, his wife Venera Pogosyan (archived profile, photos, contacts) does not show such caution, therefore she commented on a number of photographs of her husband’s colleagues, which facilitated the identification.

1. Shahlamdzhyan is identified (marked with a yellow arrow) in several photographs from the period of the Ukrainian deployment in 2014 in the album of the aforementioned Kovalchuk.

17th MRB featured in 10 episodes of InformNapalm investigations, mostly in publications, related to the facts of the invasion and involvement in hostilities in the Donbas in summer and autumn 2014:

• The 17th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation is in Ukraine2014-09-09
• “Tankman”: Russian Officer of the 17th Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade Who Participated in Armed Hostilities in Donbas 2014-10-13
• “Inglourious Basterds”: a monument to the soldiers of the 17th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Shali 2015-02-06
• Officer of the Russian 17th Motorized Rifle Brigade Awarded Order of Courage for the Donbas War2015-06-18
• 2S19 ‘Msta-S’ Self-Propelled Howitzer of the 17th Brigade near Novoazovsk2015-08-12
• The 17th Brigade in Donbas in Summer, 2014. Photo proofs2015-04-27
• Another ‘Hybrid Miner’ from the Russian 17th Brigade2016-02-10
• Veterans of Donbas from the 17th Mechanized Infantry Brigade and their Orders of Courage07/12/2016
• Russian officer who lost his Order of Courage09/12/2016
• “F#cked-up brigade” – former contract soldier about 17th MRB of the Russian Army (Video) 2016-10-07

Databases of the Russian servicemen and evidence of the participation of the Russian hybrid forces in the war in Ukraine are available here: https://informnapalm.org/en/category/top-investigations/.

This publication was prepared on the basis of an OSINT-investigation by the InformNapalm international volunteer group.

By Irakli Komaxidze 

 Translated by Andrii Gryganskyi, edited by Artem Velichko. (CC BY) Information specially prepared for InformNapalm.org site, an active link to the authors and our project is mandatory for any reprint or further use of the material.

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