22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Division
Identification
The site is best identified as the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division headquarters at Engels-2 airbase near Engels, Saratov Oblast. DIU identified the division command element there as military unit 06987 in May 2024, and EU sanctions records dated 16 December 2024 list the division and its commander, Nikolay Varpakhovich, as based at Engels-2. ([gur.gov.ua](https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/identyfikatsiia-voiennykh-zlochyntsiv-rf-rozvidnyky-vyznachyly-khto-obstriliuie-ukrainu-krylatymy-raketamy-spysok.html))
Verified structure
The strongest corroborated open-source picture shows two confirmed subordinate regiments: the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment at Engels airfield with Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft, and the 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment at Shaykovka, Kaluga Oblast, with Tu-22M3 bombers. DIU separately identified a 52nd Regiment Tu-22M3 destroyed in April 2024 and confirmed that regiment as part of the division. ([gur.gov.ua](https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/identyfikatsiia-voiennykh-zlochyntsiv-rf-rozvidnyky-vyznachyly-khto-obstriliuie-ukrainu-krylatymy-raketamy-spysok.html))
Operational role
This division is a long-range strike formation. DIU states its personnel were involved in planning and executing missile attacks using Kh-22/Kh-32 from Tu-22M3 aircraft and Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 from Tu-95MS/Tu-160 aircraft. Janes likewise assessed Engels-2 as a launch point for stand-off Kh-101, Kh-55, and Kh-555 strikes against Ukraine. ([gur.gov.ua](https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/identyfikatsiia-voiennykh-zlochyntsiv-rf-rozvidnyky-vyznachyly-khto-obstriliuie-ukrainu-krylatymy-raketamy-spysok.html))
Basing and posture
Engels-2 remains the key hub for the division’s headquarters and bomber operations, but open sources indicate a more dispersed posture under wartime pressure. AP reported in January 2025 that repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Engels had forced Russia to move most bombers elsewhere, and Janes documented 121st Regiment Tu-95MS aircraft operating from Olenegorsk after deploying from Engels, indicating active dispersal away from the main base. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/eb5abf964e3104a55770e2bae78f2c3b))
Defenses and vulnerabilities
Janes reported the wider Engels base complex is reportedly covered by the 511th Guards Air Defence Regiment with S-400 systems, but the site has still remained vulnerable to deep strikes. Janes reported damage to Tu-95 aircraft in the December 2022 Engels attack, and AP reported in January 2025 that a fuel-storage depot supplying the airbase was set ablaze during another Ukrainian strike. ([janes.com](https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/air/ukraine-conflict-russian-bomber-base-hit-in-airstrike))
Confidence limits
The supplied 184th regiment placemark at Engels was not independently confirmed from the stronger sources reviewed. DIU’s May 2024 order-of-battle breakdown listed only the 121st and 52nd regiments under the division, and Janes’ June 2025 analysis attributed Engels-deployed Tu-95MS aircraft to the 121st. On that basis, a separate currently active 184th regiment at this headquarters should be treated as unconfirmed in open sources reviewed here. ([gur.gov.ua](https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/identyfikatsiia-voiennykh-zlochyntsiv-rf-rozvidnyky-vyznachyly-khto-obstriliuie-ukrainu-krylatymy-raketamy-spysok.html))