Russian Airborne Forces (VDV)
Identification
This record most closely matches the command of Russia’s Airborne Forces (VDV), centered on the Moscow compound at 10 Matrosskaya Tishina. Russian corporate records list the federal institution Command of the Airborne Forces at that address, and an Army-2015 exhibitor listing also placed the VDV command there. A separate official contact address for the VDV as a service appeared on the EU’s December 2022 sanctions listing at Frunzenskaya Naberezhnaya 22, so Matrosskaya Tishina is best assessed as the physical command compound rather than the only official correspondence address. ([rusprofile.ru](https://www.rusprofile.ru/id/10127824?utm_source=openai))
Command
As of sources published in July-August 2025, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky was still identified as commander of the Russian Airborne Forces. Russian state media also quoted him publicly on VDV combat activity in the Sumy area in August 2025, indicating that the headquarters remains tied to active wartime force employment rather than serving only as an administrative staff. ([api.army.mil](https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2025/07/09/daa46f8a/no-25-1060-how-russia-fights-jul-25.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Training
The 242nd Training Center in Omsk is a key VDV force-generation site. Open sources describe it as the service’s junior-specialist training center, and an August 2025 visit identified Colonel Vitaly Repin as the center commander, corroborating that the placemark is an active training installation rather than a legacy site. ([ru.wikipedia.org](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/242-%D0%B9_%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%BC%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%85_%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%92%D0%94%D0%92?utm_source=openai))
C2 and sustainment
The Medvezhi Ozera placemark matches military unit 54164, with Russian registries placing that unit in the locality and local reporting identifying it as the 38th Guards Communications Brigade of the VDV. The Kolomna placemark matches military unit 40917; open sources confirm the unit and its Kolomna address, but the exact current title as the VDV’s central property or storage base is corroborated mainly by older VDV community reporting rather than recent official publications, so that function should be treated as probable rather than fully confirmed. ([prima-inform.ru](https://www.prima-inform.ru/cat/cc/v-ch-54164-1035010214645-5050016492?utm_source=openai))
Operational relevance
A 2025 U.S. Air Force field guide assessed the VDV at about 35,000 active-duty personnel and described it as including special and air-maneuver forces. In the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, VDV elements spearheaded the February 24, 2022 air assault on Hostomel/Antonov Airport in an attempt to seize a runway and open an airbridge into Kyiv; Russian failure to hold the field or bring in follow-on forces highlighted both the VDV’s strategic role and its dependence on joint suppression, logistics, and timely ground relief. ([airuniversity.af.edu](https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AFCLC/04.%20Ready%20Airman/Field%20Guides/EUCOM/ECFG%20Russia%202025-3r.pdf?timestamp=1749223452090&ver=4mZbMG6T_EWFY49f9pW_Sw%3D%3D))