36th Separate Marine Brigade

Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi 36th Separate Marine Brigade
36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти імені контрадмірала Михайла Білинського
Active	20 July 2015 – present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Navy
Type	Marines
Size	2,605 (2020)
Part of	Ukrainian Naval Infantry Corps
Garrison/HQ	Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Engagements	War in Donbas 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Siege of Mariupol Battle of Mykolaiv Kherson counteroffensive
Commanders
Current commander	Serhiy Volyna
Notable commanders	Volodymyr Baranyuk
Insignia
Insignia (2015–2019)

The Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi 36th Separate Marine Brigade (Ukrainian: 36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти імені контрадмірала Михайла Білинського, romanized: 36-ta okrema bryhada morskoyi pikhoty imeni kontradmirala Mykhaila Bilynskoho) is a marine brigade of the Naval Infantry of the Ukrainian Navy. Formed on 20 July 2015, it consists primarily of Ukrainian marine forces evacuated from Crimea following its 2014 annexation by the Russian Federation, in particular the 36th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade, the 1st Separate Marine Battalion, and the 501st Detached Marine Battalion.

36th Brigade in an amphibious warfare exercise

Establishment

On 20 July 2015, less than a year following the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from Crimea, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade was formed from military units which had remained loyal to Ukraine following the peninsula's annexation by Russia. The brigade's first commander was Dmytro Deliatytskyi, who had formerly commanded the 1st Separate Marine Battalion.

British-Ukrainian marine Aiden Aslin of the 36th Brigade demonstrates a RPG-7 to a US Marine

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

See also: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Siege of Mariupol

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the Brigade was, along with the Azov Regiment, one of the two main Ukrainian units defending Mariupol during its siege by the Russian and DPR forces. The brigade was largely destroyed during the course of the siege.

On 18 March, two Russian Kalibr missiles, fired from nearby Kherson, struck a Ukrainian army barracks in Mykolaiv 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. 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.

On 13 April, the Ukrainian government forces stated that, as a result of a special operation, units of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade managed to connect with the Azov 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, Colonel Volodymyr Baranyuk, and his chief of staff were among those captured, leaving Major Serhiy Volyna in command of the remnants of the brigade entrenched inside the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. The remnants of the brigade surrendered on 20 May 2022, along with the remaining defenders of the Azovstal plant.

The 36th defended Mykolaiv — its garrison — during the Battle of Mykolaiv. Later the Brigade fought over control of the Kherson Oblast during the 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.