Ukraine Breaks Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade Again
A story that never ends
One way or another, I am going to write a book, or maybe a series of books, about the war. The first chapter will be about the battle for Hostomel Airport, a decisive moment that set Ukraine on a path towards successful resistance.
It is the second chapter I am struggling to come to terms with. It has to be either the failure of Russia’s 200th Arctic Brigade’s objective to blunt Kharkiv City’s defense or the devastating defeat suffered by the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade near Chernihiv in the first week of the war.
All three incidents played a major role in bolstering Ukraine’s faith in resisting Russian forces, proving they were strong enough to counter Russian aggression and come out on top. Those early moves may not seem significant in today’s context, but each of those three moments, had Ukraine lost them, could have led this war on a very different trajectory.
After failing to capture Hostomel Airport, some 23 miles north of Kyiv, the Russian plan for a quick encirclement of Kyiv became impossible. The idea was to capture the airport, drop a massive number of troops and resources, and flood them towards Kyiv. They planned to take control of the seat of the government, declare the Ukrainian government decapitated, and celebrate by the time reinforcment arrived via land routes.
The three-day blitz the Russians had planned had Hostomel Airport at the center of it all. But then the Ukrainians thwarted this plan. They not only stalled the Russian paratroopers at Hostomel Airport, but also slowed down the advance of the ground forces.
The 155th Naval Infantry Brigade suffered the worst at the hands of the Ukrainian defenders as they clashed near Chernihiv, a city that lies 150 km north of Kyiv.
In early March 2022, Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsimbalyuk wrote about the destruction on Facebook: “Units of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade (Vladivostok) were almost completely destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to reports, the losses amounted to about 600 servicemen killed and the same number wounded.”
That message would be the last anyone heard about the 155th Brigade for the next seven months. After the devastation, Putin immediately sent these soldiers to Belarus, where they remained until they reappeared near Vuhledar in November of that year.
And what a way to announce their return.
Thanks to their high-profile recognition, soldiers of the 155th Brigade publicly called for an investigation into the “incomprehensible offensive by General Muradov” that resulted in “about 300 people being killed, wounded, or going missing in four days.”
But hey, it is Russia we are talking about.
No one investigated anything.
The cries of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade fell on deaf ears. The only action taken was to pull back the unit, reload it with conscripts, give them tanks, weapons, and other equipment, and order them to march on Vuhledar once again.
In early February 2023, the 155th brigade again suffered heavy losses during the offensive on Vuhledar. Video recordings of one combat encounter show nearly 30 Russian combat vehicles being destroyed, including 13 tanks and 12 BMPs. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the footage shows Russian forces engaging in “highly dysfunctional” combat tactics, which is likely an indication that the 155th brigade is made up of poorly trained, freshly mobilized soldiers.
One month after the series of ill-fated frontal assaults on Vuhledar that decimated scores of heavy vehicles and caused the deaths of hundreds of soldiers of the 155th, the Institute for the Study of War reported that the brigade had been reconstituted at least eight times.
The Russians would build them, then break them, and then rebuild them again. It is a sorry story that continues to remain just that. Since that time, the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade has been operating near Vuhledar in southern Ukraine.
Here is where you would have found the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade last week.
Vuhledar is the point where the map turns, literally. It is where southern Ukraine meets eastern Ukraine. Years of fighting have turned this town into a Ukrainian fortress against which the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, once led by none other than General Gerasimov, launched a frontal assault.
He wasn’t there forever. It was during the November 2022 to January 2023 period when he took charge of the assault. He earned the unit a glorious failure, blamed everyone else for it, packed his bags, and ran. It was so bad that Ukrainian Spy Chief Budanov uses that particular attack as an example of why mechanized assaults do not work wonders on the Ukrainian battlefield.
In an interview with Howard Altman in Washington.,D.C, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov shared some details about the early 2023 attack on Vulhedar:
“I will share two other examples on the enemy side. Similar situations could be observed during Russian attempts to attack Vuhledar last winter. The same thing happened. They went on attack in combat convoys and there were dozens of pieces of equipment that just didn’t get through. And by the way, what is peculiar about that specific operation was that it was commanded personally by Gen. [Sergei] Gerasimov, and when all that equipment was destroyed, he blamed everyone around him and just left the frontline”.
Imagine the commander of the Russian armed forces taking the reins of the 155th Brigade to supervise their attack. How important the location must have been then? Vuhledar has always been a critical location for the Russian forces and will continue to be. Just like Avdiivka, Vuhledar is a fortress that anchors Ukrainian defense in this sector.
You have to get rid of it to have any hopes of advancing in the nearby area. After failing to directly enter Vuhledar, the Russian army changed its strategy. They massed their troops in the sector and are trying to advance through a series of settlements near Novomykhailivka, as shown in the red box in the image below. This is their planned advance to get behind Vuhledar.
On July 15th, the Russians launched a massive three-pronged assault in this direction. One prong was above the river line near Novomykhailivka, one below, and one in the middle.
According to a frontline report from Ukrainian outlet Euromaidan:
The Russian strategy involved a simultaneous attack from three directions: north, south, and directly towards Novomykhailivka. However, the Ukrainians’ defensive tactics, which included anti-tank mines, artillery, and kamikaze drones, proved effective. Early detection and destruction of a Russian T-72B3M tank with a mine trawl halted the northern attack. In the south, a large Russian formation was detected and engaged by the Ukrainian 72nd Mechanized Brigade, resulting in the destruction of over ten armored vehicles and heavy casualties.
The main frontal assault targeted Kostyantynivka, involving advanced Russian tanks like the T-90M and T-80, as well as other armored vehicles. Despite the scale and intensity of this attack, the Ukrainians successfully repelled it using anti-tank mines, guided rockets, FPV drones, and Switchblade-600 loitering munitions.
Just a few days ago, the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade was operating in this area. Deepstatemap had them positioned in the sector, and UAcontrolmaps confirmed their presence. However, as of earlier today, the 155th has already gone missing from the frontline.
Some parts of the 155th have been fighting in the northeast near Hybloke. It is entirely possible that the Russians relocated whatever is left of this unit all the way to the northeast, or they could have simply been pulled out of the frontline to rebuild them once again.
Why does this matter?
It might seem questionable to track just one brigade amid the broader conflict, but there is value in doing so. Of all the brigades, why would Gerasimov choose the 155th to act as a local commander in early 2023? The Russian army continues to rely heavily on its elite units for offensive missions.
These are the units that receive the best weapons, equipment, and support. To understand what the Russians are doing and gauge their capabilities on a given day, it is essential to keep an eye on these elite units. For instance, a few weeks ago, intense fighting in the northeast rendered the 83rd Airborne Brigade combat ineffective.
The 83rd Airborne is another elite VDV unit in the Russian army. They had been fighting in and around Bakhmut for a long time. After things went disastrously wrong for the Russian army in the northeast, the Russian generals hastily moved troops around. During this reshuffle, the unfortunate decision was made to withdraw the 83rd Airborne from Bakhmut sector, as they were one of the first VDV divisions sent to the frontline in the northeast.
I reported at the end of June that the 83rd Airborne had been decimated so severely that the Russian army had already withdrawn the unit from the frontline in the northeast.
We’ve seen two elite units devastated within just two months, and this is likely causing significant turmoil within the Kremlin’s decision-making circles.
Is this happening because Ukraine is specifically targeting these elite units?
No.
It’s happening because the Russians keep deploying these heavily equipped units to areas where the fighting is intense and where they feel the need to be on the offensive. Naturally, these are the sections where Ukraine will respond forcefully. When they do, the Russians face substantial losses.
Things are not the same as they were. The response the Russian forces received from Ukraine in mid-February2024 is not comparable in shape, scale, or form to the response they are encountering now.
Want proof?
Just try finding the 83rd Airborne and the 155th Brigade on the map.
They are gone for now.
Thanks for reading. Making critical information on Ukraine accessible is one way to fight misinformation. That’s why I’ve made 220 stories free to the public in 2024, including this one.
