64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (2023-present) 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment (1967–2009) | |
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Active | 1967 – present |
Country | Soviet Union (1967–1991) Russia (1992–2023) |
Branch | Soviet Army (1967–1991) Russian Ground Forces (1992–2023) |
Type | Mechanized infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 35th Combined Arms Army |
Garrison/HQ | Knyaze-Volkonskoye MUN 51460 |
Engagements | |
Commander | (Acting) Lt. Colonel Vasiliy Shcherbakov Lt. Colonel Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov |
The 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (
The brigade was formed as the 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment, which transferred to the Far East in 1967, and which was converted into a brigade in 2009.
The brigade was among the units that perpetrated the
History
Soviet Army
In August 1967, the 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment of the
In October 1974, the regiment became a ready reaction unit. On 11 May 1980, it was reduced to a Category B strength.[5]
Russian Army
In December 1994, it was brought up to wartime strength. Between 8 and 9 January 1995, elements of the regiment were sent to fight in the
In 2001 it was withdrawn from the ready reaction force. In June of that year, the regiment became part of the 270th Motor Rifle Division, again in the 35th Army. On 1 June 2009, the regiment was converted into the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.[6] In accordance with a 26 June 2012 directive, the brigade was relocated to Knyaze-Volkonskoye.[5] In January 2014, a T-72 tank of the brigade exploded during target practice, killing an officer and two conscript soldiers.[7]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
The unit was deployed northwest of Kyiv during the
Shortly afterward, on 18 April 2022, the brigade received the honorary guards status from Russian president Vladimir Putin and became known as the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[12][13]
After the Russian retreat from Kyiv Oblast, the brigade was rushed to redeploy and participate in the battle of Donbas. In April, the brigade was reported to have been engaged by Ukrainian forces at Izium, and taken losses there.[14] In June, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed almost all of the 35th Combined Arms Army there.[15][16] According to Ukraine, Russians published photos of their dead soldiers from the brigade.[17][18]
Citing a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Institute for the Study of War concluded that the brigade had likely been destroyed as "part of an intentional Kremlin effort to conceal war crimes it committed in Kyiv Oblast." The report went further stating that of the 1,500 members of the brigade, losses were estimated at 200-300 killed and as much as 1,000 wounded during fighting at Izium and Sloviansk, and that the unit "largely ceased to exist."[19] The unit was then directly hit by the main Ukrainian thrust during the Kharkiv counteroffensive, and afterwards ceased to be mentioned in the Russian order of battle again, corroborating reports by the Ukrainians that the Brigade's remnants had suffered 90% casualties during the offensive, with only a few dozen managing to escape encirclement and subsequent destruction.
References
- ^ ГОНЧАРЕНКО, Татьяна ЦВЕНГЕР | Марина (2022-05-09). "Парад Победы в Хабаровске 9 мая 2022: прямая онлайн-трансляция". hab.kp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-22.
- ^ "Putin honors 64th Brigade accused of Bucha massacre". www.ukrinform.net. 2022-04-18.
- ^ "Putin adds 'Guards' to title of military unit responsible for Bucha massacre: what this means". The Indian Express. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
- ^ a b "Мотострелковый полк (г. Хабаровск)" [Motor rifle regiment at Khabarovsk]. mil.ru (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. 2006. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ a b "ИСТОРИЯ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ БРИГАДЫ" [Learn the history of the brigade]. melchnic-info.ucoz.ru (in Russian). 64th Motor Rifle Brigade. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Войсковая часть 51460 (64-я ОМСБр)". voinskayachast.net (in Russian). 10 July 2015. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ Goryainov, Andrei (31 January 2014). "Взрыв танка Т-72 на полигоне "Млечник", погибли лейтенант и два рядовых срочной службы" [T-72 explodes at the Mlechnik range, killing officer and two enlisted conscripts]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ Brown, Lee (2022-04-13). "Nine women and girls in Bucha pregnant after 'systematic rape' by Russian troops". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ Halpert, Madeline (April 18, 2022). "Putin Honors Army Unit Accused Of Bucha Killings". Forbes.
- ^ Mirovalev, Mansur (2022-04-04). "Bucha killings: 'The world cannot be tricked anymore'". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Angelova, Masha; Picheta, Rob (2022-04-19). "Putin gives honorary title to brigade accused of Bucha war crimes".
- ^ "64th Detached Motor Rifle Brigade receives honourary Guards title". President of Russia. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ "'Bucha murderers' suffer losses near Izium – General Staff". www.ukrinform.net. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ^ "Ukraine claims to have destroyed nearly an entire Russian army in Izyum".
- ^ "Ukraine forces wipe out almost entire 35th Combined-Arms Russian Army in Izium - Yermak".
- ^ "Ukrainian forces kill Russian soldiers who tortured civilians in Bucha".
- ^ Krutov, Mark (10 August 2022). "The Dead Of The 64th: A Notorious Russian Army Unit And Its High Casualty Rate". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ van Brugen, Isabel (2022-08-12). "Russian units linked to Bucha war crimes likely 'destroyed in combat'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
External links
- Official website of the brigade
- https://polishnews.co.uk/ukraine-bucha-who-are-the-soldiers-of-the-64th-independent-motorized-rifle-brigade-the-unit-responsible-for-war-crimes-against-the-ukrainians/ " The brigade has Russian commanders, but is largely composed of soldiers from ethnic minorities and less privileged groups, explained Col. Mykola Krasny from Ukrainian intelligence."
- CNN tracks alleged war crimes committed by Russia's 64th brigade. In: CNN, 27 May 2022 (Video; Transcript)