Volodymyr Baraniuk | |
|---|---|
 Baraniukc. 2021 | |
| Native name | Володимир Анатолійович Баранюк |
| Birth name | Volodymyr Anatoliiovych Baraniuk |
| Born | 1974 (age 50–51) |
| Allegiance |  Ukraine |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Marine Corps |
| Service years | 2000–2022 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 36th Separate Marine Brigade |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Volodymyr Anatoliiovych Baraniuk (Ukrainian:Володимир Анатолійович Баранюк; born 1974) is aUkrainian Marine Corps colonel. He commanded the36th Separate Marine Brigade from September 2021 to March 2022 and is best known for his role during theSiege of Mariupol.
Baraniuk started his military career in 2000, asplatoon commander in the 1st Separate Marine Brigade in Crimea. In 2014, at the time of theRussian takeover of Crimea, and subsequently got detained and beaten up by the Russian forces.[1] He was deputy commander of the1st Separate Marine Battalion, stationed inFeodosia, of which he assumed command in April 2015.[2] In 2014, he was awarded theOrder of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd degree.[3]
Baraniuk was appointed deputy commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade in November 2020, and commander of the brigade in September 2021. At the outbreak of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, the brigade was stationed in Mariupol,where it became quickly surrounded by the Russian advances from the east and from the southwest. During the subsequent siege, Baraniuk was one of the leaders of the defense of Mariupol, along with the commander of theAzov Regiment, Lieutenant ColonelDenys Prokopenko; Baraniuk was also the highest-ranking officer among the besieged forces. On 19 March 2022, PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky awarded the Order ofHero of Ukraine to Colonel Baraniuk and Lieutenant Colonel Prokopenko.[4]
As the Russian forces gradually captured most of the city, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade entrenched itself within theIllich Steel and Iron Works. In the night between 11 and 12 April, the brigade attempted a breakout, as a result of which some 500 marines managed to link up with Ukrainian forces present inAzovstal iron and steel works, while an unknown number were killed or captured and over a thousand, including some 400 wounded, were taken prisoner when Russian forces seized the Illich steel plant on the following day.[5][6][7] Afterwards, the whereabouts of Colonel Baraniuk became unknown, withMajorSerhiy Volynskyi assuming command of the remnants of the brigade besieged in the Azovstal plant.[8] On 17 AprilEduard Basurin, spokesman of theDPR Military Command, claimed that Baraniuk had been killed during the breakout attempt and that his body had been identified, but no evidence was provided for this claim.[9]
On 8 May 2022, Baraniuk appeared alive in an interview withRT, proving previous reports of his death to be false. It was stated that he had been captured in a field a few kilometers north of Mariupol, together with his chief of staff, Colonel Dmytro Kormiankov (who also appeared in the interview), and a number of his men. He is currently held by the Russian Federation as aprisoner of war.[10][11][12]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander of36th Separate Marine Brigade 2021–2022 | Succeeded by |
Mariupol in theRusso-Ukrainian war | |
|---|---|
| War in Donbas(2014–2022) | |
| Siege of Mariupol(2022) | |
| Russian people | |
| Ukrainian people | |
| Pro-Ukrainian volunteers | |
 | This Ukrainian biographical article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
