The 9th Guards Motor Rifle Mariupol–Khingan Orders of the Republic and Suvorov Brigade (), formerly known as the 9th Separate Naval Infantry Regiment () is a military unit of the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

. Until January 1, 2023, it was part of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). It is attached to the 51st Guards Combined Arms Army. It is commanded by the former

Somalia battalion The 60th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Assault Battalion named after Mikhail Tolstykh, M. S. Tolstykh (Military Unit Number, MUN 08828; , в/ч 08828), often known as Somalia Battalion (), is a military unit of Russian Ground Forces. Until January 1 ...

commander Timur Kurilkin.

History

War in Donbas

The 9th Mariupol-Khingan was formed from the remnants of the Semenovsky Battalion, a loose formation of locals and Russian volunteers who took part in the fighting in Sloviansk and at

Donetsk Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that was destroyed in 2014 during the War in Donbas (2014–2022), war in Donbas. It was built in the 1940s, rebuilt in 1973, and then ag ...

. A reformed and strengthened Semenovsky Battalion then took part in the offensive towards Mariupol, and helped to

capture Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

the coastal town of

Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; , ) is a border city on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia),fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

for the coastal town of

Shyrokyne Shyrokyne (, ) or Shirokino () is a village in the Mariupol Raion of Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The village is situated on the shore of the Sea of Azov, about east from the centre of Mariupol. War in Donbas The village became a battleground in ...

by the Azov Sea. In February 2016, the former battalion was reformed into the 9th Separate Naval Infantry Regiment by a special decree of the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic,

Alexander Zakharchenko Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko (26 June 1976 – 31 August 2018) was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the Russia-installed head of state and prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, a self-proclaimed state and Russian-backed ...

. The name of the unit was based on the Soviet 221st Rifle Division which took part in the liberation of Mariupol during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. By 2017, the regiment had over 1,200 soldiers and was equipped with

T-72 tank The T-72 is a family of Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refurbishment has ...

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...

s, and

BTR-80 The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first de ...

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In 2022 the regiment 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 ...

. In January 2023, the regiment was incorporated into the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

as part of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps and was reformed into the 9th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Following the battle of Avdiivka, the brigade was thanked by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in a congratulatory telegram. The brigade then took part in the

2024 Kharkiv offensive On 10 May 2024, the Russian Armed Forces began an offensive operation in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast, shelling and attempting to breach the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of Vovchansk and Kharkiv. ''The Guardian'' reported ...

. It was then transferred to the Donetsk Oblast in order to take part in the

Pokrovsk offensive The Pokrovsk offensive is an ongoing military operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces with the primary goal of capturing the strategic city of Pokrovsk in western Donetsk Oblast. Fighting increased with the Ru ...

. The 9th Brigade along with the 132nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and the 80th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion took an active part in the

Battle of Toretsk The battle of Toretsk is an ongoing engagement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for control of the city of Toretsk and the settlements in the surrounding area, beginning on 18 ...

. On June 7, 2025, the brigade was awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

References

{{Brigades of the Russian Ground Forces Military units and formations established in 2016 Military of the Donetsk People's Republic Separatist forces of the war in Donbas