21st Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

Military unit

The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Brigade is a formation of the Russian Ground Forces based in Orenburg Oblast. It was formed on 1 June 2009 from the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform.^[1]

In 2014, the brigade was involved in the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.^[2]

History

In August 2014 the brigade's units fought in the Battle of Ilovaisk. On 29 August, during a Ukrainian breakthrough attempt from Ilovaisk, a "northern" column of Ukrainian forces took the fight with 21st brigade's troops on a road between Voznesenka and Horbatenko villages.^[3] A Ukrainian T-64 tank and several BMP-2s of 51st Mechanized Brigade were able to destroy two T-72BA tanks^[4][5][6] and a BMP-2^[7] of the 21st Motor Rifle Brigade. Another 21st brigade's T-72BA tank was destroyed near Kumachove village, presumably by a Tochka-U missile strike of the 19th Missile Brigade.^[8]

A Ukrainian Headquarters briefing held on 11 March 2015 noted the 21st Motor Rifle Brigade units are operating near Yenakiieve, Ukraine.^[9]

Bodies of soldiers, reportedly from the division, which were killed in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine near Rusaniv [uk] were among six that were to be swapped for two captured Ukrainian soldiers in an exchange in March 2022.^[10]

2024

Becoming 27th Motor Rifle Division as of April 2024, consisting of: ^[11]

• 433rd Motor Rifle Regiment,
• 506th Motor Rifle Regiment,
• 589th Motor Rifle Regiment,
• 268th self-propelled artillery regiment,
• 1107th separate anti-tank artillery division,
• 838th separate anti-aircraft missile division,
• 907th separate reconnaissance battalion,
• 1614th separate engineer battalion,
• 834th separate communications battalion,
• 140th separate logistics battalion,
• 341st separate medical battalion

Commanders

• Colonel Andrey Sergeevich TRIFONOV ^[12]

References

1. Holm, Michael. "27th Guards Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
2. Sutyagin, Igor (March 2015). "RUSI Briefing Paper: Russian Forces in Ukraine" (PDF). Royal United Services Institute. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
3. "Серпень 2014 року. Іловайськ. Частина ІV. Чому і як виходила з оточення "північна" група генерала Руслана Хомчака - Суспільство - Український тиждень, Тиждень.ua" [August 2014. Ilovaisk. Chapter 4. Why and how the "northern" column led by General Ruslan Khomchak tried to break through]. tyzhden.ua. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
4. "Exclusive: Charred tanks in Ukraine point to Russian involvement". Reuters. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
5. "'Orenburg Weather' Destroyed Tanks of the 21st Brigade Near Starobesheve – InformNapalm.org (English)". InformNapalm.org (English). 2015-08-31. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
6. "Russian military near Ilovaisk in 2014. 21st Motor Rifle Brigade (MUN 12128) : Askai on Twitter". Retrieved 2016-11-03.
7. "Destroyed in August 2014, BMP-2 of the Russian 21st Motor Rifle Brigade. White dots on a turret and in front of a hull near right track : Askai on Twitter". Retrieved 2016-11-03.
8. "Tochka-U, Russian Military Losses, and Other Coincidences Of August 2014 – InformNapalm.org (English)". InformNapalm.org (English). 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
9. "The ATO Headquarters Briefs Foreign Press on Frontline – InformNapalm.org (English)". InformNapalm.org (English). 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
10. Ponomarenko, Ilia (2022-03-21). "How Ukraine swaps living soldiers for dead Russians". Kyiv Independent.
11. "Ukraine Control Map". Google My Maps. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
12. "AWAITING SANCTIONS". Retrieved 24 October 2023.