126th Coastal Defence Brigade

The brigade inherited the awards, military glory and titles of the 126th Rifle Division (2nd formation) that took part in World War II. The division began to form on September 1, 1941, at Muchnaya station, Primorsky Krai (probably) as the Voroshilov Rifle Division of the 25th Army of the Far Eastern Front. Probably in January 1942 it was renamed the 126th Rifle Division (2nd Formation). Since February 1942, it has been part of the 39th Rifle Corps of the same army. On July 11, 1942, the division was transferred to the west. The division was part of the "operational army" (at the fighting front) from July 28, 1942 - May 19, 1944, and from July 8, 1944 - May 9, 1945. It took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and fought at Melitopol, and in Ukraine and in the seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in 1944. In Crimea, it fought as part of the 54th Rifle Corps, 2nd Guards Army, 4th Ukrainian Front.[5] It was part of the 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945.

In 1957, it became a motor-rifle division. In March 1967, due to the departure of the headquarters of the 45th Army Corps, the 126th Motorized Rifle Division (military unit 19756) was transferred to the 32nd Army Corps of the Odessa Military District.[6][7] It comprised the 257th Tank Regiment (Perevalne), which became 126th Tank Battalion around 1990, the 361st Motor Rifle Regiment (Yevpatoria), the 98th and 100th Motor Rifle Regiments (both Simferopol), the 816th Artillery Regiment, and 1096th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Межгорье).

"The division was maintained as a Not Ready Division - Low-Strength Cadre." (Holm)

On December 1, 1989, the division was transferred to the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet and transformed into the 283rd Gorlovka Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Coastal Defense Division.[8] The transfer was accompanied by an increase in the division's armament. On January 3, 1990, the division's number 126 was restored,[9] and in 1996 the division was disbanded.

In 2003, on the basis of units of the 32nd Army Corps, the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, military unit A2320, was formed. In early 2014, the Brigade's barracks in Crimea were surrounded for several weeks by masked Russian special forces soldiers during the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. On March 21, 2014, servicemen loyal to their oaths of Ukraine were allowed to leave Crimea for unoccupied Ukraine; the remainder were given the option of quitting or renouncing their oaths to Ukraine and swearing a new oath to the Russian Federation. According to Colonel S. I. Storozhenko, the brigade commander, 199 servicemen from 1,200 left and 300 quit; the remainder swore allegiance to the Russian Federation.[10] Thereafter, it was reported that the brigade and its commander entered the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as a separate coastal defense brigade of the Black Sea Fleet.[10] On December 1, 2014, the 126th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade was formed on the basis of this formation.[11]

On March 2, 2022, as part of the Southern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, units of the brigade advanced towards the city of Voznesensk from Mykolaiv, attempting to find a crossing over the Southern Bug river. The column consisted of 400 men and 43 vehicles.[12][13]

The unit failed to find a crossing, due to preparations taken by the city's mayor and civilian population; there were numerous roadblocks, a bridge over the Mertvovod River was destroyed, and the shoreline of the river had been dug out so Russian vehicles could not ford it.[13]

Defense of the city was mostly mustered by the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade as well as local civilian militias, Territorial Defense Forces and the Special Operations Forces. The Ukrainian paratroopers proved to keep the unit’s artillery ineffective, and the 126th was forced to withdraw from the city after sustaining heavy losses. A total of 100 Russian soldiers died, 10 were captured, and 30 of the unit’s 43 armoured vehicles were either destroyed or abandoned in one day; Ukrainian forces were able to salvage 15 of these into working order.[14]

A second attempt to capture the city between March 9 and March 13 also ended in defeat.[15]

On March 28, 2022, over three weeks after defeat at Voznesensk, it was announced that the brigade would be granted a Guards title, without a change in its numerical designation. The Guards title is awarded to units that demonstrate "mass heroism and courage during combat operations".[16]

After the beginning of the successful Ukrainian Liberation of Kherson in September 2022, Telegram reports appeared saying the brigade had suffered very heavy losses.[17] On October 5, 2022, messages appeared saying that "126 is no more.. the remnants of the brigade are attached to our [76 GAAD] operational subordination."[18]

On October 15, 2022, the Institute for the Study of War wrote in their daily Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment:

"A video posted to social media on October 13 shows servicemen of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet in an unspecified location in Kherson Oblast complaining that they have been fighting in the area since the beginning of the war without breaks or troop rotation. The servicemen asserted that they are being “crushed” by Ukrainian forces and emphasized that they have one BTR (armored personnel carrier) for 80 people, which is greatly restricting their maneuverability. After the video circulated, a Wagner Group-affiliated Telegram channel announced on October 14 that Wagner Group leadership decided to transfer four off-road vehicles to the 126th Coastal Defence Battalion [sic: Brigade] in support of their efforts to hold the frontline in Kherson Oblast.

The 126th brigade has been stationed on Ostriv Velykyi Potomkin, the scene of continued skirmishes as part of the 2022–2023 Dnieper campaign, since at least November 2022. Since the Liberation of Kherson, the island has transferred hands several times.[19] It had initially been liberated by Ukrainian forces on 7 December, but was re-occupied by Russian forces on 9 December.[20][21][22][23] Ukrainian and Russian forces, who both maintain a presence on the island, have both contested the island since January 2, 2023.[24][25] The 126th brigade claimed to have repelled an assault on 7 March, while Ukrainian forces claimed to have killed 13 Russians and destroyed 6 armored vehicles and a tank during an air strike on 16 April.[26][27] On August 25, 2023, Ukraine attacked the brigade in Prevalne.[28]