The 12th Brigade of Operational Assignment (12 BrOP — military unit 3057) was a military formation of the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

. It was part of the Eastern operational territorial association. It was based in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

History

Establishment

On January 18, 1990, the 129th Special Motorized Militia Battalion of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (military unit 5509) was formed in

. On January 2, 1992, the 10th Separate Battalion of the NGU (military unit 1041) was formed out of the 129th special motorized police battalion and integrated into the 4th Northern Division. In 1995, the battalion was transferred to the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and renamed the 17th Separate Special Motorized Battalion (military unit 3057).

Battle of Mariupol

In April 2014, the situation in the city of

became significantly complicated. Supporters of the self-proclaimed

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

held systematic unauthorized rallies with attempts to seize government-held installations, including the seizure of the Mariupol City Hall building. From April 10 through 14, 2014, supporters of the DPR, led by the so-called "people's mayor," Denis Kuzmenko, and personnel from the armed wing of their security service made periodic visits to a checkpoint manned by military unit 3057 to persuade its commanding officers to submit to the leadership of the DPR and surrender their weapons for use by the separatists. After receiving a refusal, saboteurs blocked the checkpoint with tires, sandbags, and other objects. By the next morning, the remains of the barricade were removed with the assistance of the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. On April 16, 2014, servicemen of the 17th Separate Battalion under the command of Serhiy Sovinskyi repelled an attempt to capture the unit's HQ. At 20:00, a group of female protestors started an unauthorized rally at the gate of the unit's HQ. This was meant to distract military personnel guarding the facility. The protests were followed by an armed attack at 20:30. Protesters started throwing

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s and tearing down gates, demanding that the personnel hand over their weapons. Realizing the futility of their actions, they began to request reinforcements over the radio. Minibuses carrying armed men in uniforms and balaclavas arrived twenty minutes later. A total of about 200 people began attacking the facility with small-arms fire. Shelling was carried out along the entire perimeter from nearby houses. The servicemen of the 17th Battalion at first responded with warning shots, then when these went unheeded, proceeded to return fire on DPR forces. The 17th held their position until midnight, until they were reinforced by units of the Mariupol police. At least 19 attackers were wounded, 3 of them fatally.

Restructuring

In December 2014, the unit was reformed into the 18th Operational Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, and during the next four months, its ranks were replenished with servicemen from the "Azov" and "Donbas" special forces battalions. Thus, in 2015, the regiment included: * A patrol battalion * Emblem of the Donbas Battalion

Donbas Battalion * Emblem of the Azov Battalion

Azov Battalion The 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" () is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion (), ...

* A special patrol company * A rifle company (reserve) On September 9, 2016, the "Donbas" battalion was transferred to the 15th Regiment, which was stationed in the city of

Sloviansk Sloviansk is a city in Donetsk Oblast, northern part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The city was known as ''Tor'' until 1784. While it did not actually belong to the raion itself, Sloviansk served as the administrative center of the S ...

. In October 2019, the regiment was reorganized as 12th Separate Operational Brigade.

Siege of Mariupol

The brigade took part in the

Siege of Mariupol The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Republic People's Militia) and the Ukrainian ...

. After the start of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

on February 24, the brigade took up the defense in the city of

. On 16 April 2022, Russian forces captured the base of the unit, in western Mariupol. Together with other units, the brigade defended the city until May 2022, at which time the final blockade of the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal plant was carried out. On May 3, the brigade commanders reported on the catastrophic situation at the plant and called on the military-political leadership of Ukraine and the

International community The international community is a term used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. Usage Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is typically used to imply the ...

to evacuate all troops from the territory of "Azovstal".

Reformation into Azov Brigade

During the

, most of the troops of the

Azov Regiment The 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" () is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion (), ...

were captured, the remaining troops and the 12th Brigade were then reorganized into the 12th Special Purpose "Azov" Brigade.

Honours

On March 24, 2018, by decree of the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

, with the 18th Operational Regiment was awarded the honorary title "name of

Dmytro Vyshnevetsky Dmytro Ivanovych Vyshnevetsky (; ; ) was a Ruthenian magnate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He established the Zaporozhian Cossack stronghold on the Small Khortytsia Island. He was also known as ''Baida'' () in Ukrainian folk song ...

" after

. On October 27, 2022, the unit received the honorary award " For Courage and Bravery" by the decree of the

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

.Decree of the President of Ukraine from 27 жовтня 2022 year № 739/202
«Про відзначення почесною відзнакою «За мужність та відвагу»»

Commanders

* Colonel Serhii Yevhenovich Sovinskyi (2014) * Colonel Oleksandr Ivanovych Kryachko (2014–2021) * Colonel Denis Oleksiyovych Shlega (2021–2022).

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 1990 Military units and formations disestablished in 2023