Ukrainian Artillery Kills Commander of Russia’s 11th Tank Regiment
Ukrainian artillery killed Major Alexei Karavaev, the commander of Russia’s 11th Tank Regiment, who used the call sign “Father.”
The Ukrainian OSINT project X from Above OSINT reported the death after finding an obituary published on a Russian website.
The Russian Severny Kanal Telegram channel, which is linked to Russia’s North military grouping, also reported that Karavaev was killed during the night of October 3–4. According to the channel, he was traveling to the front line to inspect Russian positions when he was killed.
Russia’s 11th Tank Regiment is part of the 18th Motor Rifle Division of the 11th Army Corps. Its permanent base is in Gusev, Kaliningrad Region. The unit is currently fighting in the Kharkiv direction.
According to OSINT researchers and the ASTRA outlet, before being appointed to the 11th Tank Regiment, Karavaev likely served in the 82nd Motor Rifle Regiment of Russia’s 69th Motor Rifle Division, which is part of the 6th Army.
This is supported by entries in phone contact databases, where his number was saved under names such as “Battalion Commander Sasha Volchansk” and “Father, Special Military Operation, 82nd Regiment, 1st Battalion.” These records may indicate that he served in the 1st Battalion, but they do not, on their own, confirm his specific position or the period of his service.
In the summer of 2024, soldiers from this battalion held positions at the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant. Russian forces reportedly killed Ukrainian prisoners of war there.
One of the unit’s servicemen, Serhii Tuzhylov, who used the call sign “Altai,” was sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2026 for taking part in the execution of prisoners of war.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Tuzhylov personally shot and killed a bound Ukrainian serviceman. He also selected locations for the killing of two other prisoners and guarded the perimeter during the executions.
Before the killings, Russian forces tortured the Ukrainian defenders and coordinated the executions with their commanders.
The 11th Tank Regiment, commanded by Karavaev, had previously suffered losses in the Kharkiv region. In particular, soldiers from Ukraine’s 425th Assault Regiment destroyed members of the unit during an attempt to cross the state border near Kozacha Lopan.
Units of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine liberated the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant, where troops from the 82nd Motor Rifle Regiment, where Karavaev is believed to have previously served, were stationed, on September 24, 2024. The intelligence officers cleared all 30 buildings at the facility and captured about 20 Russian servicemen.
