The 24th Separate Guards Special Forces Brigade (''24-й отдельной бригады специального назначения'') is a special forces (''spetsnaz'') brigade of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

Structure

* Brigade HQ ** Signals Company ** Special Weapons Company ** Logistics Unit * 281st Special Purpose Detachment * 297th Special Purpose Detachment * 641th Special Purpose Detachment

History

The brigade was established on 1 November 1977, in the Transbaikalia military region on the basis of the 806th separate special purpose company. In 2002, it was transferred to Buryatia, in 2009 to the Irkutsk region, and in 2012 to

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Census, ...

. Initially, only a command team and the 1st Battalion were deployed. In 1980, the 2nd battalion was deployed.

Afghanistan

In 1984, the 281st separate special forces unit was formed on the basis of the 24th obrSpN and deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

Chechnya

The 281st separate special forces unit took part in combat operations in Chechnya in 1994-1996.

North Caucasus

The brigade formed a combined unit that conducted reconnaissance and combat operations in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

from 5 September to 26 December 2000. After a six-month deployment to the

, the detachment (1st b-n) returned to the place of permanent deployment in December 2006. As of October 2012, the combined battalion was deployed to

Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe ...

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

This brigade participated in the

invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been invaded or occupied a number of times throughout its history. List See also * List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References {{Europe topic, List of wars involving, title=Lists ...

in 2022. On 31 May,

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has Russia under Vladimir Putin, served continuously as president or Prime Minis ...

granted Guard status to the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. The brigade reportedly played a key role in the fighting in

Lyman Lyman may refer to: Places Ukraine * Lyman, Ukraine United States * Lyman, Iowa * Lyman, Maine * Lyman, Mississippi * Lyman, Nebraska * Lyman, New Hampshire * Lyman, Oklahoma * Lyman, South Carolina * Lyman, South Dakota * Lyman County, South Dak ...

. Confirmed casualties are listed below, but there is evidence that the unit lost more than 70 men.

Confirmed losses

* 32-year-old Major Sergey Kashansky. He was reportedly serving in a unit in

, likely either the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade or

41st Combined Arms Army The 41st Combined Arms Army (russian: 41-я общевойсковая армия) is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, currently part of the Central Military District. Originally, it was formed in 1942 as part of the Soviet Red Army, du ...

. * Andrey Baranov, a contract soldier with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade based in

. * 28-year-old Semyon Nesterenko previously served with the GRU/GU's 3rd Spetsnaz Brigade and then likely with the 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He took part in the annexation of Crimea. * Alexander Savelyev, a contract serviceman with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade, was killed in Ukraine on 5 March reportedly by a mine. * Praporshchik Kara Boydoev was killed in Ukraine on 24 March. He previously served with the 42nd Naval Reconnaissance Point (OMRP) naval spetsnaz, and then with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade after graduating RVVDKU. * Sergeant Alexander Zhovner served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He was previously deployed to Syria. * Vasily Solak served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He was killed in Ukraine on 8 May. * Captain Dmitry Pak was a graduate of the

Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School The Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School (russian: Новосибирское высшее военное командное училище) is Russian higher military school conducting commissioned officer programmes (specialitet). It is l ...

and served in a

Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...

unit. He was killed in Ukraine on 6 May. He took part in the annexation of Crimea and was deployed to Syria and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

. Pak is the second Russian

soldier killed in Ukraine, having reportedly previously served in

. * Captain Fyodor Panov served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. * Danil Dikiy served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He was killed on 30 April in Yampil, Donetsk Oblast reportedly along with 7 other soldiers. * Yefreytor Evgeny Donin served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade as a conscript and then signed a contract to serve in the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade's reconnaissance battalion. He was killed in Ukraine on 11 August. * Alexey Siksay served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He was killed in Ukraine on 19 July near

Lysychansk Lysychansk ( uk, Лисича́нськ ; russian: Лисича́нск ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Prior to 2020 municipal classification reforms, it was incorporated as a city of oblast signific ...

. * Junior Sergeant Alexander Medvedev of the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade was killed in Ukraine on 13 August. * Roman Zhizhemsky killed on 11 August. InformNapalm's known KIA count for the 24th Spetsnaz Brigade is now 16 * Maxim Vinogradov served with the GRU/GU's 24th Spetsnaz Brigade. He previously deployed to Syria and was killed in Ukraine on 26 June. * Captain Kevish Vyacheslav Eduardovich was killed in Ukraine on 16 September.

References

Spetsnaz brigades of Russia Spetsnaz brigades of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1976 {{Russia-mil-stub