So, the regiment's long war goes on. Of the war's wider effects on the Ukrainian population you will glean little from Russian media, nor is there any frank coverage of war-crime allegations.
The 331st were accused of massacring hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers during fighting in 2014. For many Ukrainians, the latest Russian losses may seem like nothing more than the paratroopers getting their just deserts.
Meanwhile, in Kostroma's graveyard there is plenty of evidence of the price of failure in Russia's invasion. Buried too is the regiment's reputation as "the best of the best", and its dreams of easy victory.
Additional research Maria Jevstafjeva and Louis Harris-White