36th Marine Brigade

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36th Marine Brigade
36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти
Active	20 July 2015–present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Marine Corps
Role	Marine Infantry
Garrison/HQ	Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast
Motto(s)	With us is God and Victory
Engagements	War in Donbas Russian invasion of Ukraine Siege of Mariupol Battle of Mykolaiv Kherson counteroffensive 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive[1][2]
Website	Facebook
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. Mykyta Vitek[3]
Notable commanders	Viktor Sikoza Volodymyr Baranyuk Serhii Volynskyi
Insignia
Old unit patch 2015 – 2023

The 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinskyi (Ukrainian: 36-та окрема бригада морської піхоти імені контрадмірала Михайла Білинського, romanized: 36-ta okrema bryhada morskoi pikhoty imeni kontradmirala Mykhaila Bilynskoho) was formed in 2015 from units withdrawn from the occupied Crimea – 1st and 501st Marine Battalion, which were previously part of Ukrainian 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade.^[4][5] The brigade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.^[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 the 1st Marine Battalion.^[4]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the 501st battalion of the brigade was, along with the Azov Regiment, one of the three main Ukrainian units defending Mariupol during its siege by the Russian and DPR forces. The battalion 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.^[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.^[7]

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 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 battalion entrenched inside the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works.^[8] The remnants of the unit surrendered on 20 May 2022, along with the remaining defenders of the Azovstal plant.^[9]

The 36th defended its garrison, Mykolaiv, during the early months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Later the brigade fought over control of the Kherson Oblast during the 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.^[10] The brigade took part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.^[1]

As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows: