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| 36th Marine Brigade | |
|---|---|
| 36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти | |
_patch.svg) | |
| Active | 20 July 2015–present |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Marine Corps |
| Role | Marine Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Mykolaiv,Mykolaiv Oblast |
| Patron | Mykhailo Bilinskyi |
| Motto(s) | With us is God and Victory |
| Engagements | |
| Website | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt. Col.Mykyta Vitek [uk][3] |
| Notable commanders | Viktor Sikoza Volodymyr Baranyuk Serhii Volynskyi |
| Insignia | |
| Old unit patch 2015 – 2023 |  |
| Flag |  |
The36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear AdmiralMykhailo 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501st Marine Battalions, which had been previously part of Ukraine's36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade and had been withdrawn fromRussian-annexed Crimea.[4][5] The brigade has participated in thewar in Donbas since its formation. In February 2022, whenRussia invaded Ukraine, the majority of the brigade was located in Mariupol.[4][6]
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 the1st Marine Battalion.[4]
During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 501st Battalion of the 36th Brigade was one of the three main Ukrainian units, along with theAzov Regiment, defendingMariupol during itssiege 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 theAzov 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, ColonelVolodymyr Baraniuk, and his chief of staff were among those captured, leaving MajorSerhii Volyna in command of the remnants of the battalion entrenched inside theAzovstal 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]
While most of the 36th Brigade's units were stationed in Mariupol at the time of the invasion, other elements of the brigadedefended its garrison,Mykolaiv, during the early months of theRussian invasion of Ukraine. Later the brigade fought over control of theKherson Oblast during the2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.[9] The brigade took part in the2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[1]
On 18 March, two RussianKalibr missiles, fired from nearbyKherson, struck a Ukrainian army barracks inMykolaiv 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]
On 19 October 2023, the brigade lost 90 men killed and wounded in a RussianIskander strike while attempting toestablish a bridgehead under theAntonivka railway bridge on the left bank of theDnieper, according to a source in the brigade's command interviewed byUkrainska Pravda.[11]
As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:
1st Separate Marine Battalion, (1 ОБМП,m/u А2777, until 2014: А2272),Mykolaiv. Commander Lt. Col. Vladyslav Galkin
501st Separate Marine Battalion, (501 ОБМП,m/u А1965 (А0669),Berdiansk.
Reconnaissance Company