4th Mixed Aviation Division
Identification
Open-source order-of-battle research matches this record to the headquarters of Russia’s 4th Mixed Aviation Division at Marinovka air base in Volgograd Oblast, within the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army. CNA’s 2021 Southern Military District study says the division HQ was established at Marinovka in 2016 to add command-and-control capacity for the army’s growing aviation force. ([cna.org](https://www.cna.org/reports/2021/08/Russian-Forces-in-the-Southern-Military-District.pdf))
Subordinate aviation
CNA identifies the 11th Mixed Aviation Regiment at Marinovka as the division’s local reconnaissance/strike regiment, operating Su-24M/MR and providing reconnaissance capability to the division and higher headquarters. The same study places the 960th Assault Aviation Regiment at Primorsko-Akhtarsk with Su-25SM/SM3 attack aircraft; RIA reported in 2018 that the first serial Su-25SM3 aircraft had entered service with the 960th and 368th assault regiments. ([cna.org](https://www.cna.org/reports/2021/08/Russian-Forces-in-the-Southern-Military-District.pdf))
Infrastructure
Marinovka is an operating airfield as well as a headquarters site. Satellite imagery published in June 2024 showed 12 newly built aircraft shelters at Marinovka and visible Su-24/Su-34 aircraft, indicating wartime investment in aircraft protection at the division HQ airfield. ([theaviationist.com](https://theaviationist.com/2024/06/01/satellite-images-marinovka/))
Operational relevance
UK Defence Intelligence assessed on 1 July 2025 that Marinovka was in daily use for combat operations and also served as a fallback dispersal location when other Russian airfields were threatened. The same assessment said a Ukrainian UAS strike on 27 June 2025 almost certainly destroyed at least two Su-34 aircraft there, with possible additional aircraft damaged, underscoring both the airfield’s operational value and its continuing vulnerability. ([kyivpost.com](https://www.kyivpost.com/post/55552?utm_source=openai))
Confidence note
Higher-quality sources reviewed confirm the HQ location, the Marinovka and Primorsko-Akhtarsk basing pattern, and the aircraft families associated with the division’s key regiments, but they do not corroborate the exact airframe totals given in the placemark text. Those exact aircraft counts should therefore be treated as lower-confidence than the unit identities, locations, and mission sets. ([cna.org](https://www.cna.org/reports/2021/08/Russian-Forces-in-the-Southern-Military-District.pdf))