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Branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ukrainian Marine Corps (Ukrainian: Корпус морської піхоти України, lit. 'Corps of marine infantry of Ukraine'), also known simply as the Ukrainian Marines (Ukrainian: Морська піхота України, romanized: Morska pikhota Ukrainy, lit. 'Marine Infantry of Ukraine'),[5] is the maritime land force service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2023, responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations. From its modern foundation in 1993 up to 2023 it constituted part of the Coastal Forces of the Ukrainian Navy. It is used as a component part of amphibious, airborne and amphibious-airborne operations, alone or in coordination with formations and units of the Ground Forces in order to capture parts of the seashore, islands, ports, fleet bases, coast airfields and other coast objects from the enemy. It can also be used to defend naval bases, vital shoreline areas, separate islands and coast objects, and security of hostile areas.[6]
| Ukrainian Marine Corps | |
|---|---|
| Корпус морської піхоти України | |
 Cap badge (cockade) of the Ukrainian Naval Infantry | |
| Founded | May 23, 1918[1][2] |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Type | Marines |
| Role | Amphibious warfare, coastal defense |
| Size | 6,000 (2022)[3] |
| Part of |  Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Garrison/HQ | Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine |
| Motto(s) | "Always faithful!" (Ukrainian: Вірний завжди!) |
| Colors | Light green[1] |
| Anniversaries | May 23[4] |
| Engagements | Ukrainian War of Independence Ukrainian–Soviet War Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General Marine Corps | MG Dmytro Delyatytskyi |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical recognition flash |  |
| Service flag |  |
| Garrison colour |  |
The Marine Corps's principal missions are to:
Its motto is Вірний завжди! ("Always Faithful!") .
The Marine Corps is descended from the formations of the Black Sea Fleet Naval Infantry of the former Imperial Russian Navy.
Former Russian Imperial army general Pavlo Skoropadskyi understood the importance of naval infantry in providing security to the country. Being the commander-in-chief of land and naval forces, Skoropadskyi brought attention to creating the naval infantry during his first month in power. On May 23, 1918, he ordered the Department of Navy to Begin forming a Brigade of naval infantry consisting of three regiments.[4][8][9]
The mission of the Naval Infantry was protecting coastal areas, serving as a garrison force for forts and conducting landing operations. According to the order the Brigade was divided into three regiments. First regiment was responsible for the areas between the western border until the village of Suchavka, near Odesa. Second regiment was responsible for territory between Suchavka and Stanislavov. Third regiment protected the areas from Stanislavov until Perekop. Brigade was also put in charge of guarding the property of the Navy Department.[8]
Each of the three regiments consisted of three kurins. Each kurin consisted of three Sotnia and a machine gun unit. Commandant of the first regiment was Ilarion Isaievych.[8]
On August 31, 1918, each unit was given the permanent headquarters. First regiment's HQ was located in Odesa, second's HQ in Mykolaiv and third's HQ in Kherson. Also at this time 3 squadrons of cavalry were formed. First was stationed in Odesa, second in Ochakiv and third in Perekop.[8]
In October 1918 new recruits born in 1899, would have joined the ranks of the naval infantry, however due to the political situation of that autumn the recruits had to wait until a better time.[8]
Not long after, Pavlo Skoropadskyi was removed from power in an uprising led by Symon Petliura. The Naval Infantry continued to faithfully serve their nation under the banner of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Many of them have died for freedom and independence.[8]
On February 22, 1993, the 880th Separate Naval Infantry Battalion of the Black Sea Fleet commanded by Major Vitaliy Rozhmanov pledged their allegiance to Ukraine.[7][10]
After the Navy was created on July 1, 1993, as a separate service branch of the Armed Forces, the first battalion of the Naval Infantry was formed in the city of Sevastopol.[7][11] The first naval infantrymen were transferred from the airmobile units. On September 1, 1993, the 41st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion was formed. By September 20, 1994, the 4th Naval Infantry Brigade was stationed in the Tylove village of Crimea.[11]
From May 1996 until 1998, the Brigade was a part of the Ukrainian National Guard.[11] In 1998, it was transferred to the Navy and re-designated the 1st Separate Naval Infantry Brigade.[11] In 1999, the Brigade consisted of two battalions numbering 1,500 marines.[12] During 2003–04, the Ukrainian armed forces underwent a program to reduce the number of brigades, and the Naval Infantry Brigade was reduced to a Battalion.[11]
The command of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made a decision to form a new Naval Infantry battalion by force of a mechanised battalion located in Kerch. In December 2013 the militaries of the new 501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion have taken the Naval Infantry Oath.[13]
The 1st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion was under the jurisdiction of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade,[7] and it was stationed in Feodosiya and there was also another one battalion (501st Bn.) which was stationed in Kerch; both were in the Crimea until late March 2014.[14]
Special reconnaissance units of the Marine Corps were deployed against insurgents during the 2014 war in Donbas. Oleksandr Zinchenko of the 73rd Spetsnaz Detachment was the first Ukrainian Marine killed during the war in Donbas.[15] The Ukrainian Marine Corps was particularly hard hit by the Russian annexation of Crimea as all of their forces except for the 73rd Spetsnaz Detachment were stationed on the peninsula, due to this the unit had to undergo extensive reorganization before being able to be deployed to the war in the Donbas.[16][17][18][19] After the annexation of Crimea there were only 200 marines left in the Ukrainian Naval Infantry,[20] members of the 1st Marine Battalion who had been led by Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Delyatytskyi out of Crimea to Mykolaiv.[21]
In September 2014 the Ministry of Defense announced that the Marine Corps were reforming from the Russian annexation of Crimea and the remaining members of the 1st Marine Battalion which was stationed in Feodosya would take an active part in the war in Donbas.[22] On 29 October 2014 Ukraine's Marine Corps conventional forces, recently recovered from the annexation of Crimea suffered their first casualty near Mariupol, the Marine was a Major and was killed when his unit's position came under Russian artillery fire.[23]
On 8 November 2014 Ukrainian marines returned to their permanent place of deployment in Mykolaiv as part of a regular rotation of Ukrainian forces during the war in Donbas.[24] Also that year, 16 November was made the official holiday of the Ukrainian naval infantry, because that was when the first oath of office was taken by Ukrainian marines in 1992. The holiday remained on that date until 2018.[20]
In 2016 the Odesa Military Academy began training the first class of Naval Infantry officers. Prior to this, there was no specific training institution for marine officers, who came from other branches of service, such as the Ukrainian Ground Forces or the Airmobile Forces. Because of the shortage of officers in the Naval Infantry some of the cadets at the academy that were training to become Airmobile Forces officers were offered courses to become marine officers instead. In 2018 the first twelve of these cadets graduated as Marine Corps lieutenants.[21]
In January 2018 it was reported that the Ukrainian government planned to create a Marine Corps to place all Naval Infantry and Coastal Artillery units of the Ukrainian Navy under one command. At this time it was not a separate branch but part of the Naval Forces. As of January 2018 the Coastal and Territorial Defense Forces of the Navy included the 36th Marine Brigade in Mykolaiv, 137th Separate Marine Battalion in Dachne, Odesa Oblast, the 406th Marine Artillery Brigade in Mykolaiv, and the 32nd Separate Artillery Regiment in Altestove, Odesa Oblast. The Naval Infantry were commanded by Colonel Serhii Tartakovskyi. The creation of the Marine Corps Command was a step towards bringing the Ukrainian Navy into line with NATO structures.[25] On 22 February 2018, Decree №39/2018 of the President of Ukraine established the Marine Corps Command.[26]
On 23 May 2018, the NI celebrated the first Marine Corps Birthday celebrations, the holiday being officially sanctioned by President Petro Poroshenko as part of a nationalization of the former Soviet holidays, replacing those with the ones celebrating Ukrainian military history. The holiday marked the formation of the first marine units in May 1918, during the Ukrainian War of Independence. New colours were awarded incorporating the speciality badge awarded to the unit in 2007. The NI was transformed into the Fleet Marine Division with 2 brigades and an independent brigade of marine artillery. The former black berets were changed to light green following the practice of the British Royal Marines and the Italian Army Lagunari.[27][28][29]
The new colours include the blue cross from the naval ensign as an acknowledgement of its role as a constituent service of the Navy. Plans are underway for the formation of a 3rd Marine brigade, bringing the total number of brigades to four plus one MRL regiment, with an option for a fourth brigade.
The ideal goal in the reform of the Marine Corps is to form a unit which would be similar to the units sent to Iraq. It is planned that there will be no more conscripts in the Corps, only professional naval infantrymen under contract service.[30]
With the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Naval Infantry fought against Russian forces invading the country. They are active at the southern regions of Ukraine, having participated at the Southern Ukraine and Eastern Ukraine campaigns.
As of early 2022 the Ukrainian Marines had 7,000 troops organized in two brigades, six separate battalions battalions, and a separate reconnaissance battalion.[20]
On 12 April 2022, videos have emerged of fighters apparently from the 501st Battalion of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade vowing not to surrender their positions, saying "We are holding on to every bit of the city wherever possible," and "But the reality is the city is encircled and blocked and there was no re-supply of ammunition or food,".[31] The next day, Russian Defence Ministry as well as the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced 1,026 Ukrainian Marines, including 162 officers, of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade laid down their weapons and surrendered in Mariupol.[32][33] Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said he had no information about the claim, and there was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian President's office nor the Ukrainian general staff.[34] A top advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said another Marine unit that was encircled in the middle of Mariupol had broken through to connect with the Azov Regiment and that Mariupol is still standing.[35] By 16 April, the Marines and Azov had entrenched themselves in the Azovstal iron and steel works, the last Ukrainian bastion in Mariupol.[36] By May 17, most Azovstal defenders surrendered.[37]
In celebration of the 105th Marine Corps Birthday on 23 May 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his capacity as Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, in a visit to a Marine Corps installation announced that effective that day, in gratitude for service to the nation and people, especially during the ongoing Russian invasion, after more than three decades since its reactivation the Marine Corps was to be officially separated from the Ukrainian Navy and was elevated into a service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with its Commandant General now a part of the General Staff and appointed by the Commander in Chief of the AFU.[38][39]
While it will be a separate service branch of the Armed Forces, arrangements have been made for the Navy to continue assisting the Marine Corps in its amphibious operations through its landing craft and providing air cover as well as providing shore gunnery support from its vessels for its landing operaions. The decision to bifurcate from the Navy proper and become an independent branch of the AFU was made with the needs of the Corps and its growing number of servicemen and women currently fighting against Russian forces during the ongoing invasion taken into account, as well as the status of its constituent formations and its mission and obligations in regards to provisions of the Constitution and laws of the republic as a part of the wider Armed Forces in both war and peace. The Corps will also continue to provide Marine detachments to serve in the Navy's seagoing and riverine assets and in defense of its naval bases and stations.[40] Another reason for the separation of its command structure from the Navy was the recognition that the Marine Corps needs to have independence in decision making to more effectively carry out amphibious operations.[41]
With the separation, the Fleet Marine Division was transformed into the 1st Marine Division, responsible for the operational combat formations of the Marine Corps. The Navy's overall ground based coastal defense capabilities have been under Marine Corps control since the separation.
In October 2023, the 38th Marine Brigade crossed the Dnieper river into the Russian-controlled Kherson Oblast and captured a bridgehead on the left bank at the village of Krynky.[42] The fighting there has continued into 2024, with at least three Marine Corps brigades being deployed for the campaign.[43] The Ukrainian marines have taken notably heavy losses while crossing the river and fighting to maintain the bridgehead.[42][44][45]
![Thumb](#/media/File:Морпіхи_1-го_Феодосійського_батальйону_морської_піхоти_взяли_участь_у_морському_поході_СДК_"Юрій_Оліференко"_(33213879861).jpg)
In 2018 the Naval Infantry Division's Organization was as follows:
The marine infantry battalions were organized as follows:
The tank and artillery battalions are organized similarly but with one to 4 tank companies or artillery batteries.
On 23 May 2023 the Marine Corps, after more than three decades, had its status elevated to that of a service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the former Fleet Marine Division was transformed into the 1st Marine Division Ukrainian Marine Corps. The Commandant General's status was finally raised into one equal to that of the other service commanders of the armed forces. With the new status the Marine Corps' brigades and pre-war battalions received new coat of arms effective July.
| Composition of Ukrainian Marine Corps[48][49][50] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Marine Corps General Command | A2022 | Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | Commandant General: MG Dmytro Delyatytskyi | |||||
 |
80th Marine Corps Headquarters and Services Battalion | n/a | |||||||
 |
241st Marine Corps Training Center | А2407 | Radensk, Kherson Oblast | ||||||
 |
Marine Corps Recruitment Center | Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | Director, Viktor Samokhin | ||||||
 |
Marine Corps Basic School | Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | |||||||
| XXX Amphibious Corps | Corps Commander MG Dmytro Delyatsky (Concurrently as Commandant General) | ||||||||
|
35th Marine Brigade | А0216
|
Dachne, Odesa Oblast | Commander Yuriy Andriyenko
| |||||
|
36th Marine Brigade | A2802
|
Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | Commander Lt. Col. Mykyta Vitek[51]
| |||||
|
37th Marine Brigade | A4548
|
n/a
|
Commander COL Vitaliy Napkhanenko
| |||||
|
38th Marine Brigade | A4765
|
n/a | Commander LTC Yevheniy Bova
| |||||
 |
406th Marine Artillery Brigade
|
А2062
|
Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | Commander COL Andrij Šubin
| |||||
 |
32nd Separate Marine Artillery Brigade | А1325 | Altestove, Odesa Oblast | Commander Volodymyr Mohylnyi | |||||
 |
140th Marine Force Reconnaissance Battalion[52] | А0878 | Skadovsk, Kherson Oblast | Commander Oleksandr Straryna | |||||
 |
7th Marine Anti-Aircraft Missile Defense Artillery Battalion | А0350 | Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast | n/a | |||||
.svg){kind=small} |
124th Territorial Defense Brigade (Marines) | А7053 | Kherson | Commander Lt. Col. Dmytro Ishchenko | |||||
 |
126th Territorial Defense Brigade (Marines) | А7382 | Odesa | Commander COL Vadym Mykha | |||||
 |
414th Marine Unmanned Strike Systems Regiment | n/a | Commander MAJ Robert Brovdi | ||||||
| 15th Marine Service Support Regiment | n/a | ||||||||
The 406th Marine Artillery Brigade consists of five artillery battalions equipped with towed M777, 2A36 Giatsint-B, D-20, and MT-12 Rapira howitzers. The 32nd Marine Artillery Brigade consists of four field artillery battalions equipped among others bwith Uragan and Bureviy multiple rocket launchers.
According to blogs, each marine infantry brigade is organized into the following:
Plans for the creation of the XXX Amphibious Corps, with the 1st Marine Division and the 126th and 32nd Brigades as its primary elements, were finalized in April 2024.[53]
The UKRMC is equipped with the following vehicles:
It is also equipped with the following field artillery systems in the Marine Artillery Battalions:
The 7th Marine Anti-Air Defense Missile Artillery Battalion and the seven brigade air defense artillery battalions/regiments are equipped with:
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