501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion

Last updated
501st Separate Marine Infantry Battalion
501-й окремий батальйон морської піхоти
501st Marine Battalion Patch New.png
Shoulder patch
Founded2003
Country Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
Allegiance Ensign of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.svg Armed Forces of Ukraine
Branch Flag of the Ukrainian Naval Infantry.png Ukrainian Marine Corps
Type Marines
Size300 (2022)
Garrison/HQ Kerch (2003-2014)
Berdiansk (2014-2022)
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Major Yaroslav Kryklyvy
Notable
commanders		Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi
Mykola Biriukov
Insignia
Shoulder patch (2014-2023) 501st Marine Battalion Patch.png
Shoulder patch (2003-2014) 501ombVBOUkr.png

The 501st Separate Marine Infantry Battalion (military unit A1965) is a formerly independent Marine battalion that was part of the Ukrainian defense of Crimea and later part of the Ukrainian forces in the Siege of Mariupol, where the unit's commanders switched sides and tricked most of the battalion into surrendering to Russian forces. [1]

Contents

Russian annexation of Crimea

From Ukraine's independence in 1992 to 2003, the defense of the Crimean Peninsula was tasked to the 32nd Army Corps, numbering 12,000 troops. However, in 2003, Ukraine re-prioritized the defense of Crimea due to good relations with Russia, disbanding the 32nd Army Corps and tasking the Ukrainian Navy with the defense of Crimea. The navy fielded 5,600 men in three units on the Peninsula. The largest, the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade, was based in Perevalne; the 1st Marine Corps was in Feodosia; and the 501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion was the closest to the Russian border in Kerch.

In February 2014 the Russian Federal Security Service organized anti-Ukrainian meetings and convinced several local anti-Maidan supporters to seize a series of ferry docks which in turn allowed 30,000 unmarked Russian personnel to cross the Kerch Strait at night. When the 501st woke up in the morning they found their barracks surrounded, as well as the barracks of the nearby 127th battalion of the Ukrainian Coast Guard. The mayor Oleh Osadchy had been arrested and deposed, and a new Russian mayor had been installed in his place. The personnel of the unit were given three options: remain loyal to their oaths to Ukraine and surrender their weapons to be escorted to unoccupied Ukraine, disband and return home, or break their oaths and swear new ones to Russia. Of the 300 personnel of the battalion, only 64 returned to Ukraine. [2]

The battalion was reconstituted in 2023 and fought on the Donetsk front. [3] The defecting personnel of the 501st, along with the 1st Marine Corps, formed the Russian 501st Naval Infantry Battalion. Personnel loyal to Ukraine from the 501st, 1st, and 36th were merged to form the 36th Marine Brigade, with the 501st preserving their identity, command and logo as a highly autonomous battalion based out of Berdiansk. [4] [1]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Siege of Mariupol

During the outbreak of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, the 501st, as part of the 36th, was tasked with the defense of Mariupol. As the battle developed into a siege, the unit was tasked with the defense of the Illich industrial works. [5] The unit operated independently and had a runner sent from the 36th for status reports. However, when the runner arrived in the Illich works, the 501st was nowhere to be found. Their weapons, food, personal effects and other items were left, and it was as if the entire battalion had disappeared. It was not until April 4 that Russia reported that the 501st had surrendered. The loss of the 501st meant that the defenders of Mariupol could no longer defend the entire perimeter of the city, and instead had to rely on a series of strongholds throughout the city. [6]

The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) opened an investigation into the battalion's commanders, uncovering that Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi had spread pro-Russian propaganda to his men, received payments from Russian intelligence, and defected with the condition that the battalion and officers would be transferred to the Donetsk People's Republic. [7] Bezsmertnyi continues to operate as a collaborator, visiting Ukrainian POW camps near his hometown of Berdiansk to try and coerce POWs to sign with the Russian army. [8]

Initially, Ukraine treated all 277 members of the unit as defectors and cut off payments to their families. However, this policy was reversed after the release of Ukrainian POWs who interviewed members of the 501st and shared that the personnel were duped by their commanding officers, namely Bezsmertnyi and Mykola Biriukov, as well as several junior officers, were told that they were evacuating via a humanitarian corridor, and didn't realize they were being sent to POW camps until after they were on busses. [9]

After Mariupol

Despite 277 of the 300-person battalion surrendering in Mariupol, the unit's drone operators and anti-air unit continue to operate, attached to the remains of the 36th that was able to fight out of the city.

On April 14, 2022, the unit shot down a Russian Orlan-10 drone. [10] On June 29, 2023, the Battalion's "Gryphon" unit released a video of them using western anti-tank weapons to destroy Russian tanks. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Navy</span> Naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Ukraine

The Ukrainian Navy is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azov Cossack Host</span> Cossack host on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov

Azov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Marine Corps</span> Branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Ukrainian Marine Corps, also known simply as the Ukrainian Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2023, responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations. From its modern foundation in 1993 up to 2023 it constituted part of the Coastal Forces of the Ukrainian Navy. It is used as a component part of amphibious, airborne and amphibious-airborne operations, alone or in coordination with formations and units of the Ground Forces in order to capture parts of the seashore, islands, ports, fleet bases, coast airfields and other coast objects from the enemy. It can also be used to defend naval bases, vital shoreline areas, separate islands and coast objects, and security of hostile areas.

The Separate Coastal Army, also translated to English as Independent Coastal Army, was an army-level unit in the Red Army that fought in World War II. It was established on July 18, 1941, by the order of the Southern Front from the forces of 9th Army’s Coastal Group and was stood up on July 20, 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Guard of Ukraine</span> Militarised police force in Ukraine

The National Guard of Ukraine is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the direct control of the Verkhovna Rada on 4 November 1991, following Ukrainian independence, it was later disbanded and merged into the Internal Troops of Ukraine in 2000 by then-President Leonid Kuchma as part of a "cost-saving" scheme. Following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, amidst the Russian intervention, the National Guard was re-established, and the Internal Troops were disbanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azov Brigade</span> Ukrainian National Guard brigade

The Azov Assault Brigade is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion, a self-funded volunteer militia under the command of Andriy Biletsky, to fight Russian-backed forces in the Donbas War. It was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014, and redesignated Special Operations Detachment "Azov", also known as the Azov Regiment. In February 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Azov was to be expanded as a brigade of the new Offensive Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donbas Battalion</span> Unit of the National Guard of Ukraine

The 2nd Battalion of Special Assignment "Donbas" is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and based in Severodonetsk. Originally created in 2014 as a volunteer unit called the Donbas Battalion by Semen Semenchenko following the Russian occupation of Crimea and possible invasion of continental Ukraine. The formation of the unit started in the spring of 2014 during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The unit was initially formed as an independent force, but has been since fully integrated into the National Guard as the 2nd Special Purpose Battalion "Donbas" within the 15th Regiment of the National Guard.

The 414th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army; very briefly in the winter of 1941/42, then from the spring of 1942 until after May 1945. It was officially considered a Georgian National division, having nearly all its personnel of that nationality in its second formation. After its second formation it remained in service in the Caucasus near the borders of Turkey and Iran in the 44th Army until the summer of 1942, when it was redeployed to help counter the German drive toward Grozny. As German Army Group A retreated from the Caucasus in January 1943 the division was reassigned to the 37th Army in North Caucasus Front, and during the fighting in the Taman Peninsula during the summer it served in both the 58th and 18th Armies, earning a battle honor in the process. It entered the Crimea during the Kerch–Eltigen Operation in November, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner following the offensive that liberated that region in April and May 1944, fighting in the 11th Guards Rifle Corps of the Separate Coastal Army. After the Crimea was cleared the Coastal Army remained as a garrison and the 414th stayed there for the duration of the war. Postwar, it was relocated to Tbilisi, being renumbered as the 74th Rifle Division in 1955 and disbanded the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Ukraine campaign</span> Theater of conflict in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The southern Ukraine campaign is an ongoing theatre of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. From their base in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russian Armed Forces attacked Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine, battling the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Mariupol</span> Siege in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces for control over the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. Lasting for almost three months, the siege ended in a victory for Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic, as Ukraine lost control of the city amidst Russia's eastern Ukraine offensive and southern Ukraine offensive; all Ukrainian troops remaining in the city surrendered at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works on 20 May 2022, after they were ordered to cease fighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hero City of Ukraine</span> Honorary title for cities in Ukraine

Hero City of Ukraine is a Ukrainian honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was awarded to ten cities in March 2022, in addition to four already-named Hero Cities of the Soviet Union. This symbolic distinction for a city corresponds to the distinction of Hero of Ukraine awarded to individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Berdiansk port attack</span> 2022 missile strike during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Berdiansk port attack was a strike carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian Navy ships moored in the Port of Berdiansk on 24 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Alligator-class landing ship Saratov was sunk, and one of the two Ropucha-class landing ships took damage but was able to leave the port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">126th Coastal Defence Brigade</span> Russian Coastal Troops formation

The 126th Separate Guards Gorlovskaya Twice Red Banner, Order of the Suvorov Coastal Defense Brigade is a formation of the Coastal Defence Troops of the Russian Navy. Its Military Unit Number is 12676. It was granted the "Guards" honorific after suffering heavy losses in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Voznesensk, southern Ukraine, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The brigade is part of the 22nd Army Corps, Coastal Forces of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The brigade's garrison is located in Perevalne, in the Simferopol region of the Russian-occupied Republic of Crimea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volodymyr Baraniuk</span> Ukrainian soldier and colonel (born 1974)

Volodymyr Anatoliiovych Baraniuk is a Ukrainian military officer. He commanded the 36th Separate Marine Brigade from September 2021 to March 2022 and is best known for his role during the Siege of Mariupol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">36th Marine Brigade</span> Military unit

The Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky 36th Marine Brigade was formed in 2015 from units withdrawn from the occupied Crimea – 1st and 501st Marine Battalion, which were previously part of Ukrainian 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade. 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.

Serhii Yaroslavovych Volynskyi, also known as Serhii Volyna is a Ukrainian officer, Hero of Ukraine (2022), known for his role during the siege of Mariupol, in which he commanded the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War</span> Outline of the war between Russia and Ukraine since 2014

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Russo-Ukrainian War:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Marine Battalion (Ukraine)</span> Military unit

The 1st Separate Feodosia Battalion of Marines is a military unit of the marines of Ukraine, which, according to the organizational and personnel structure, is part of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Navy Forces of Ukraine. It is located in the city of Mykolaiv, on the Alyaudy Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade</span> Military unit

The 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade was a military unit that was part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that existed from 2004 to 2014. The Coastal Defense brigade was subordinate to the Ukrainian Navy replacing the 32nd Army Corps in defending Crimea.

References

  1. 1 2 Koval, Mykhailo. "Speech of First Deputy to the Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Mykhailo Koval at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine commemorating the fifth anniversary of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine". National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine . Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  2. ↑ https://ukranews.com/en/news/933341-sbi-reports-suspicion-of-treason-to-marine-who-surrendered-277-afu-soldiers-to-russia
  3. ↑ https://rubryka.com/2023/04/22/ukrayinski-morpihy-na-donechchyni-vydovyshhno-znyshhyly-vorozhi-miny/
  4. ↑ McDermott, Roger. "Assessing Russia's Defense Priorities in Crimea". Jamestown Foundation . Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Graff, Peter; Maclean, William; Osterman, Cynthia. "Russia says over 1,000 Ukrainian marines surrender in Mariupol". Reuters . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. ↑ Kyrylenko, Olga. "Escaping the besieged city by foot: The untold story of a marine's escape from Mariupol". Ukrainska Pravda . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Sonko, Alona. "Commander linked to capture of 277 Ukrainian military personnel in Mariupol charged with high treason". The New Voice of Ukraine . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  8. ↑ Лозовенко, Тетяна; Романенко, Валентина. "ДБР повідомило про підозру військовому, який здав в полон 277 морпіхів у Маріуполі". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Disappearing of the 501st Marine Battalion: Unknown Circumstances of Captivity". media initiative for human rights. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Soldiers of the 501st Marines Battalion shot down a Russian "Orlan-10" UAV". militarnyi. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Ukrainian Marines From 'Gryphon' Unit Skillfully Destroy Russian Tank 1". Charter97 . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.