42nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
Identification
Open sources strongly identify this record as the 42nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, military unit 45813, at Valday-4 near Izhitsy in Valday District, Novgorod Oblast. Historical air-defence records indicate the current regiment was formed in October 1992 when the 236th Guards regiment (also v/ch 45813) transferred from Mitino to Valday and merged with the local 195th regiment. ([ww2.dk](https://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/sam/236gvzrp.htm))
Site footprint
The location is best understood as the Valday-4/Izhitsy SAM garrison area, not a single isolated launcher point. A long-running air-defence registry for the predecessor 195th regiment places the Valday-4 technical/support area at 58°04′13″N 32°57′33″E and the guidance area at 58°04′19″N 32°58′08″E, close to the supplied placemarks. A 2025 appellate case also describes Valday-4 as military unit 45813 with multi-apartment housing under management, confirming a developed military town attached to the site. ([ww2.dk](https://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/sam/195zrp.htm))
Mission and systems
The site’s verified function is ground-based air defence. Historical OSINT records show the Valday formation evolved from S-75 and S-200 infrastructure to S-300PS positions by 2000. Later Russian defense-media reporting in August 2022 said the 42nd regiment in Novgorod Oblast had received S-400 systems and was training on them. I did not find an official 2025-2026 MoD source that settles the exact current missile variant at this specific position, so present equipment should be treated as publicly unconfirmed beyond its role as a long-range SAM regiment. ([ww2.dk](https://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/sam/195zrp.htm))
Current activity
Open reporting indicates the regiment remains active. Interfax reported in August 2022 that S-400 crews in Novgorod Oblast were conducting air-defence training against high-speed, maneuvering and low-altitude targets. In September 2025, Kirov Plant said its delegation visited military unit 45813 and described an active regiment with ceremony space, a museum, a sports complex, and continuing institutional ties with the factory whose honorific the unit carries. ([interfax-russia.ru](https://www.interfax-russia.ru/military/news/578773?utm_source=openai))
Geographic relevance
Izhitsy lies about 16 km northwest of Valday and sits on the M10 road corridor between Moscow and St Petersburg. That placement likely simplifies road sustainment and movement of heavy SAM equipment between the garrison and the wider northwest theatre; this is an inference from the documented location, not a stated official mission. ([ru.wikipedia.org](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8B?utm_source=openai))