36th Marine Brigade

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36th Marine Brigade
36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти
36th Separate Marine Brigade (Ukraine) patch.svg
Active20 July 2015–present
CountryFlag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
Branch Flag of the Ukrainian Naval Infantry.png Ukrainian Marine Corps
RoleMarine Infantry
Size Brigade
Part of 30th Marine Corps.png 30th Marine Corps
Garrison/HQ Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast
Patron Mykhailo Bilinskyi  [ uk ]
Motto(s)With us is God and Victory
Engagements
Website Facebook
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt. Col. Mykyta Vitek  [ uk ] [3]
Notable
commanders		Viktor Sikoza
Volodymyr Baranyuk
Serhii Volynskyi
Insignia
Old unit patch
2015 – 2023		 36th Marine Brigade Patch.png
Flag 36-OBrMP prapor.svg

The 36th Marine Brigade "Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinskyi" [a] is a Ukrainian military unit. It was formed in 2015 from the 1st and 501st Marine Battalions, which had been previously part of Ukraine's 36th Coastal Defense Brigade and had been withdrawn from Russian-annexed Crimea. [4] [5] The brigade has participated in the war in Donbas since its formation. In February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the majority of the brigade was located in Mariupol. [4] [6]

Contents

Establishment

36th Brigade in an amphibious warfare exercise 36 brigade Ukrainian navy.jpg
36th Brigade in an amphibious warfare exercise
British-Ukrainian marine Aiden Aslin of the 36th Brigade demonstrates a RPG-7 to a US Marine Aiden Aslin with a rifleman in Ukraine.jpg
British-Ukrainian marine Aiden Aslin of the 36th Brigade demonstrates a RPG-7 to a US Marine

On 20 July 2015, less than a year following the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from Crimea, the 36th Marine Brigade was formed from military units which had remained loyal to Ukraine following the peninsula's annexation by Russia. [4] The brigade's first commander was Dmytro Deliatytskyi, who had formerly commanded the 1st Marine Battalion. [4]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Mariupol

A member of the 36th Brigade with an FGM-148 Javelin, January 2023 UA 36th bde Javelin 01.jpg
A member of the 36th Brigade with an FGM-148 Javelin, January 2023

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 501st Battalion of the 36th Brigade was one of the three main Ukrainian units, along with the Azov Regiment, defending Mariupol during its siege by Russian and DPR forces. The battalion was largely destroyed during the course of the siege.

On 13 April, the Ukrainian government forces stated that, as a result of a special operation, units of the 36th Marine Brigade managed to connect with the Azov Regiment in Mariupol. The same day, Russian sources claimed that over 1,000 men of the brigade had been captured, but this remains unconfirmed. The brigade commander, Colonel Volodymyr Baraniuk, and his chief of staff were among those captured, leaving Major Serhii Volyna in command of the remnants of the battalion entrenched inside the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. [7] The remnants of the unit surrendered on 20 May 2022, along with the remaining defenders of the Azovstal plant. [8]

Mykolaiv

While most of the 36th Brigade's units were stationed in Mariupol at the time of the invasion, other elements of the brigade defended its garrison, Mykolaiv, during the early months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Later the brigade fought over control of the Kherson Oblast during the 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive. [9] The brigade took part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive. [1]

On 18 March, two Russian Kalibr missiles, fired from nearby Kherson, struck a Ukrainian army barracks in Mykolaiv housing some 200 soldiers whom were asleep at the time of the attack. Reports from the city morgue and Ukrainian soldiers stated that at least 80 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. [6] It is presumed nearly all 200 soldiers were killed, as only one survivor was pulled from the rubble the next day and temperatures reached below 6 °C (43 °F) during the night. [10]

Later operations

On 19 October 2023, the brigade lost 90 men killed and wounded in a Russian Iskander strike while attempting to establish a bridgehead under the Antonivka railway bridge on the left bank of the Dnieper, according to a source in the brigade's command interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda . [11]

Structure

As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Ukrainian: 36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти імені контрадмірала Михайла Білинського, romanized: 36-ta okrema bryhada morskoi pikhoty imeni kontradmirala Mykhaila Bilynskoho

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Українські морпіхи на Донеччині видовищно знищили ворожі міни". 22 April 2023. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "The result of the combat work of artillery against the counter-attacking militants of the 36th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye direction". Twitter. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Мілякіна, Тетяна (23 May 2024). "Командир 36-ї бригади Вітек: "Основні ціннісні орієнтири морського піхотинця — честь, відвага та відданість"". suspilne.media. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi 36th Marine Brigade". Ukrainian Military Pages. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "36 окрема бригада морської піхоти імені контр-адмірала Михайла Білинського". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Onze oorlogsjournalist Robin Ramaekers na bombardement in Mykolaiv: "Een van de zwaarste klappen voor het Oekraïense leger tot nu toe"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Flemish). 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Henley, Jon (13 April 2022). "More than 1,000 Ukraine marines have surrendered in Mariupol, says Russia". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Sauer, Pjotr; Beaumont, Peter (20 May 2022). "Russian army takes control of Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Watch: Ukraine Marines Blast Russian Ammo Depots With Stugna-P Missiles". Newsweek. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Ukraine conflict: Scores feared dead after Russia attack on Mykolaiv barracks". BBC News. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "What really happened in Krynky. The untold story of the marines' landing on the left bank of the Dnipro River". Ukrainska Pravda . 18 November 2024. Archived from the original on 5 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. 1 2 "SBI Reports Suspicion Of Treason To Marine Who Surrendered 277 AFU Soldiers To Russia | Ukrainian news". Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Морпіхи показали знищення ворожого танку". armyinform.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 23 June 2024.
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