Summary
The 4th Military Base of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation has been involved in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine since the very beginning, when the war first kicked off in February 2022. Yet the initial footage showing Russian units being deployed from the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region of Georgia, also known as “South Ossetia,” did not provide much information on the specific units or equipment that was being sent to the Ukrainian frontline.
This research identifies multiple units from Russia’s 4th Military Base confirmed as participating in the war in Ukraine, and draws on data from Russian bloggers, Russian organisations, and social media channels.
The Russian military base, deployed on Russian-controlled Georgian territory, is fully involved in the full-scale war in Ukraine. The “full involvement” is measured by the types of equipment and units relative to the structure of the military base. For instance, while the 4th Military Base does not have its own ICBM or Combat Jet Aircraft squadrons, and instead relies on the wider 58th Army and the Southern Military District in this regard, it does have its own UAV, MRLS, Assault, Field Reconnaissance, and Electronic Warfare units, which have been consistently utilised in the full-scale war since the very beginning.
The investigation identified at least 11 separate operational combat units from the base deployed in various frontline sectors, including Zaporizhizhia and Kherson. These units subordinate the Dnepr grouping of the Russian Armed Forces. Specifically, sufficient evidence was obtained to prove that the 4th Military Base trains and deploys the following types of combat units to Ukraine:
- MRLS – Multi Rocket Launch Systems, predominantly BM-21 Grads, at least 10 operational squads.
- Artillery units operating howitzers and mortars.
- Air-Defense Systems.
- Electronic Warfare units responsible for scrambling, controlling, intercepting the radio signals and the UAVs.
- At least three different Reconnaissance UAV units operating medium-range quadcopters and long range fixed-wing reconnaissance drones (e.g. Supercam, etc.)
- Interceptor UAV units utilising loitering anti-aircraft kamikadze drones.
- FPV units utilising regular radio frequency drones and, more recently, introduced Fiber-Optic Cable Operated FPV drones.
- Assault units.
- Ground reconnaissance and close-combat units.
The list points towards the 4th Military Base in Georgia’s Tskhinvali region (“South Ossetia”) being fully utilised in the war.
Introduction
In October 2024, Russian state-owned media organisation “Sputnik” published an interview with an officer serving at Russia’s 4th Military Base in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region of Georgia, also known as “South Ossetia.” The interview addressed the changes that the Russian military had to implement in operations of the base following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The journalist began an interview with this: “Sergey Alekseyevich (addressing the officer), greetings! It has been three years since Russia has been protecting its frontiers and the interests of the entire nation in the “Special Military Operation” zone (full-scale war in Ukraine). Of course, all resources (of the 4th Military Base) are deployed there (in Ukraine). Tell us, considering these circumstances, how does the Russian 4th Military Base continue to ensure the combat readiness of South Ossetia?”
This was not the first time news had emerged from Russian online-media sources regarding the Russian military from “South Ossetia” being deployed to the frontline in Ukraine. The 4th Military Base has been directly and actively involved since the start of the full-scale war launched by Russia in Ukraine in February 2022. According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), commanders from the 4th Military Base participated in the operational planning of the war.
Between 2019 and 2021, Russian military bases stationed in Georgia’s occupied regions were particularly active. According to reports from the State Security Service of Georgia, in these three years alone, Russian military units conducted over 345 combat exercises within Georgia’s occupied territories. To this day, the base continues to be actively utilised for the preparation of military personnel participating in the war in Ukraine.
In the same interview mentioned above, the Russian officer serving at the 4th Base stated that the base regularly receives conscripts from various regions of the Russian Federation. Both conscripts and contract servicemen undergo training based on combat experience gained during the war in Ukraine.
This preparation includes instruction on the operation of both strike and reconnaissance drones, ensuring personnel are equipped for the demands of modern warfare. According to the officer, the training of personnel mirrors the conditions of the so-called “Special Military Operation:” “After all, we must teach them all (the soldiers) before we send them to execute combat tasks.”
Initial Reports
As early as February 2022, reports emerged indicating that a large quantity of heavy equipment and over a thousand military personnel were deployed from the occupied Tskhinvali region to Ukraine. Considering the so-called “South Ossetian Army” had already effectively been absorbed by the Russian 4th Military Base, and the large majority of Ossetians have been serving in the Russian Army since then, in late December 2025, the de facto minister of foreign affairs of so-called “South Ossetia,” Akhsar Dzhioev, stated that approximately 2000 of the “republic’s” “citizens” are participating on the Russian side in the war in Ukraine. This indicates that the 4th Military Base was not only fighting in Ukraine with Russian manpower, but with “South Ossetian” men, too.
There has been a lack of accessible open-source credible sources depicting the units of the 4th Military Base operating at the Ukrainian frontline. Several Russian bloggers wrote about the base and its combat units subordinating the Grouping “Dnepr” of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, noting they were fighting in the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and other sectors. Further study provided more details on specific units of the Russian 4th Military Base, stationed in the occupied territory of Georgia, that were directly and actively involved in combat operations against Ukraine.
The Combat Units of the 4th Military Base in Ukraine
Artillery and the MRLS Units from the 4th Military Base
On May 15, 2026, the Russian state-controlled TV and online media outlet TV Zvezda published an interview with an officer serving at the 4th Military Base. The officer, Soslan Lokhov, with the call-sign “Tskhinval,” appears to be a commander of the BM-21 “Grad” Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS) squadron at the base. According to the article, he has been serving at the base for over 10 years, and joined Russia’s war in Ukraine as a member of the combat group. In 2022, he “liberated” settlements “in many sectors of the frontline,” and was awarded various Russian state medals, with the last one being the medal of “Zhukov” for fighting at Enerhodar, Zaporizhizhia Oblast.
According to Lokhov: “They (Ukrainians) were advancing through Dnepr towards the electricity station. They wanted to capture Enerhodar, and we infilled on six battle vehicles (BM-21s), with four more behind us. Two are launching salvos, then being rotated by another two… Our quick and decisive actions led to the destruction of Ukrainian heavy UAV units. We repelled the Ukrainian airborne assault units and did not let them reach the Kakhovka Dam. We killed 300 people with only six squads of our own. Some of their units reached the reservoir, but they were neutralised by our assault units.”
article then implies that Soslan Lokhov is spending his time between the combat deployments with his family, which “also resides on the territory of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region” (“South Ossetia”).
The Russian artillery and rocket units from the 4th Military Base operating in Ukraine are not limited to BM-21 Grads: they also comprise howitzers, mortars of different calibers, SPGs, etc. These units have adapted to the development of warfare in Ukraine, which, at the operational level, combines artillery and reconnaissance UAVs and quadcopters. The UAVs provide live streams of sectors and areas of interest, directing and correcting the artillery strikes and increasing unit precision.
A graphic video post on a Russian military Telegram channel says: ‘Artillerists of the 4th Military Base struck a gathering of (Ukrainian) manpower and equipment in the north of the settlement and destroyed enemy reserves.’
A graphic video post on a Russian military Telegram channel says: ‘Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Orekhiv village, the Artillerists of the 4th Military Base of the 58th Army are striking Ukrainian positions.’
Russian military bloggers posting on achievements of the 4th Military Base units in Ukraine: ‘The Elite UAV unit of the UAF was destroyed in the Zaporizhizhia sector…’ Source: Telegram Channels
Assault Units from the 4th Military Base
Considering the transformation of the Ukrainian frontline, with drones and UAVs now dominating entire sectors, the success and effectiveness of the close-combat assault and infantry units has significantly decreased. Despite this, there are still several close-combat units from the 4th Military Base engaged in operations.
Ethnic Dagestani Russian soldier of the 4th Military Base, fighting in Ukraine.
Zyiavutdyn Gazarov, commander of an assault unit from the 4th Military Base, comes from Derbent, Dagestan. Among other sectors, his unit participated in an offensive operation in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia sector in 2024. He was awarded a medal, the “Georgievsky Cross, IV Degree,” for his actions in recent operations.
Another post from Telegram showing a video of a Russian 4th Military Base assault unit with heavy armoured vehicles invading Ukraine’s Mala Tokmachka village in the Zaporizhzhia sector.
A group of Russian infantrymen from the 4th Military Base. Source: Telegram
A publication from the Russian Defense Ministry featured a Russian soldier describing his experiences in the Zaporizhzhia sector, however, the article did not specify which military unit he represented. The soldier’s name and military unit was accidentally leaked by the Alania 24 News Instagram page, which named that specific person as a member of the 4th Military Base’s Assault Company – Sergeant Sergey Terentyev. The post was then deleted by the Ossetian media outlet, but at the time of this investigation, it was still available as a thumbnail with a description on a search engine. Terentyev was awarded a “Georgievsky Cross.”
A serviceman of the ground reconnaissance and close-combat unit of Russia’s 4th Military Base operating in Ukraine, wishing the “Women of Russia a happy Women’s Day.” Source: Telegram
UAV Units from the 4th Military Base
The first UAV unit from the 4th Military Base that was publicly mentioned on Russian military channels was the 10th Recon Unit, also known as “Valkyrie.” This group has been operating on Ukraine’s frontlines for at least three years, incorporating reconnaissance quadcopters, regular FPV drones operating on radio frequencies, and the more recent fiber-optic FPV drones. This unit has been widely recognised by the Russian online military community as one of the most effective drone units from the military base.
The drone units operate under a structural and methodical rotation-based schedule. There are usually two or three combat groups within the same unit which regularly replace each other for continuous operations. These units usually have their own dedicated vehicles, drivers, maintenance crew, local explosives engineers, and sometimes their own dedicated workshops for setting up and preparing drones for field work.
Several servicemen of the “Valkyrie” UAV unit of the 4th Military Base, photographed in Ukraine in 2025. Source: The Nasha Pravda Foundation
A UAV Platoon Commander from the 4th Military Base
“Kruger” and “Saffron” reconnaissance UAV units of the 4th Military Base. The post says: ‘In the Kherson direction, the units of Kruger and Saffron of the 4th Military Base arrived at the neighbouring sector to organise a “spicy summer season” for the Ukrainians…’ Source: Telegram
The “Pioneer” Loitering Fixed-Wing UAV Unit of the 4th Military Base, operating Lanzet and similar drones in Ukraine. Source: Telegram
In this video posted on a Telegram channel, a fighter of the UAV unit “Valkyrie” of the 4th Military Base congratulates Russian school children on the 1st of September and dedicates to them a video compilation of the unit killing Ukrainian servicemen with drones.
Another member of the “Valkyrie” UAV unit from the 4th Military Base.
A Russian soldier of the 4th Military Base in Ukraine. Unidentified squad. Source: Telegram
Russian Air-Defence System, likely a variant of the TOR-M2 of the 4th Military Base, operating in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia sector. The Telegram post says: ‘An air-defense crew on combat duty. The sky over Zaporizhzhia Oblast is protected.’