The Berdyansk Border Detachment (1491) is a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

level detachment of the Southern Regional Department of the

State Border Service of Ukraine The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine ( SBGSU; , ; ) is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an independent law enforcement agency, organized by the Constitution of Ukraine as a military formation, the head of which is subordinated to the Pres ...

. The detachment guards the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

and the "border" with Crimea (occupied by Russia) in two raions (

Melitopol Raion Melitopol Raion () is one of the five raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the region is Melitopol. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number ...

and

Berdiansk Raion Berdiansk Raion, also spelled Berdyansk Raion () is one of the five raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the region is Berdiansk. The raion has access to the northern coast of the Sea of Azov ...

) of

Zaporizhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

as well as guarding the Port of Berdiansk and

Zaporizhzhia International Airport Zaporizhzhia International Airport () is the international airport that serves Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, one of three airfields around the city. The aircraft engine factory Motor Sich has its base here. In May 2020, the airport was extended with a n ...

with a total length of 395.5 km. Due to the

Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast The ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast () began after Russian forces launched southern Ukraine campaign, an invasion of mainland Ukraine out of Crimea on 24 February 2022. Russian-controlled parts of the oblast wer ...

, its operations along the coast are currently suspended and it currently operates against Russian forces on the frontlines.

History

The detachment was established on 10 February 2001 following the presidential decree for its establishment on 16 November 2000 and started its operations on 15 April 2001. The detachment included five border outposts, two border control units and guardian units, which guarded a section along the coast of the

within

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

and

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

. Colonel Anatoliy Serafimovych Podoplelov was appointed as its first commander and Colonel Serhii Gennadiyovych Fomenko was appointed as its chief of staff. In May 2008, its size and duties were expanded and again following the start of the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. After the

Russian invasion of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrain ...

, it started operations along the border with Crimea. Following the start of the

War in Donbass The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation ...

, it saw combat against separatists. On 6 July 2014, the detachment captured a member of

Donetsk People’s Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a republic of Russia, comprising parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Done ...

armed forces at "Chonhar" Border Control post and his

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

vehicle was captured. On 13 July 2014, a part of the detachment was deployed to fight in the Battle of Mariupol where two guardsmen temporarily attached to the detachment (Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Grechany and Epifanov Serhii Petrovych) were killed on 14 July. It continued to operate on checkpoints 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 ...

where the detachment accidentally killed a civilian in a vehicle that failed to stop at a checkpoint. In July 2015, it detained two people trying to illegally cross from Crimea. On 16 April 2020, the detachment detected and detained two poachers fishing illegally. In November 2020, it received naval assistance from US. In July 2021, the detachment along with Azov police department conducted a raid, they discovered 25

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

plants weighing 40+ kg and about 1 kg cannabis in dried form and subsequently destroyed it. In January 2022, it detained 15 potential illegal migrants and an illegal fisherman. On 24 February 2022, a part of the detachment was deployed to the front 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 ...

. The Detachment was tasked to track Russian movements in the

. On 27 February 2022, three days after the

began,

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; , ) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The c ...

was captured by the

Russian Army 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, ...

. In November 2022, while performing tasks on the frontlines they discovered and neutralized a 152 mm divisional self-propelled howitzer "Acacia".We are fighting for our homeland and Motherland, - the border service of Ukraine
/ref> On 29 January 2023, two officers of the Berdyansk Detachment, Colonel Oleksandr Dotsenko and his wife Lieutenant Colonel Nelya Dotsenko died in

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...

as a result of a strike while on a short leave to home. On 19 July 2023, it was awarded the honorary award "

For Courage and Bravery For Courage and Bravery () is an honorary award established by the President of Ukraine to recognize distinguished combat performance, courage, bravery and heroism of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine, State Border ...

". Following the

Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam The Kakhovka Dam was Dam failure, breached in the early hours of 6 June 2023, causing extensive flooding along the lower Dnieper, Dnieper river, also called the Dnipro, in Kherson Oblast. The dam was Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast, ...

, the detachment was involved in rescue and relief operations of those affected by the flooding as well as Demining operations near the coast. In March 2024, the Berdyansk Detachment in coordination with Khortytsia Brigade destroyed a Russian Murom-M complex. On 8 November 2024, the detachment struck Russian positions in Kamianka-Dniprovska across from Nikopol.

Structure

The detachment is composed of:Бердянський прикордонний загін
* Management and Headquarters * Border Service Department "Kyrilovka" * Border Service Department "Priazovsk" * Border Service Department "Primorsk" * Border Service Department "Berdyansk" * Border Service Department "Zaporizhia" * Border Service Department "Genichesk" * Border Service Department "Chongar" * Border Service Department "Blagovishchenka" * Border Service Department "Blagovishchenka" * Border Service Department Melitopol" * Border Service Department "Novooleksiiivka" * Mobile Border Outpost "Berdyansk" * Aerial Division ** Airport Outpost "Zaporizhzhia" * Marine Division ** Seaport Outpost "Berdiansk" * Guardian units

Commanders

* Colonel Anatoliy Serafimovych Podoplelov (April 2001-November 2002) * Colonel Pluzhnyk Vasyl Petrovych (March 2003-November 2004) * Colonel Mykola Pavlovich Zamelyuk (February 2005-September 2006) * Colonel Radaev Anatoly Valeryovich (September 2006-September 2008) * Colonel Veretilnyk Vitaly Viktorovych (September 2008-December 2011) * Colonel Marchuk Volodymyr Mykolayovych (December 2011-February 2014) * Colonel Yurii Mykhailovych Chernov (February 2014-December 2014) * Colonel Britsky Vadim Vasyliovych (December 2014-July 2015) * Lieutenant Colonel Popik Oleksandr Mykolayovych (July 2015–December 2015) * Colonel Martynyuk Oleksandr Volodymyrovych (January 2016-May 2018) * Colonel Yuriy Borisovich Kovalchuk (May 2018-December 2019) * Colonel Tsymbal Ruslan Oleksandrovych (January 2020-August 2020) * Colonel Oleg Volodymyrovych Chichanovsky (August 2020-September 2022) * Colonel Gidzula Volodymyr Oleksandrovych (September 2022-December 2023) * Colonel Pavlyk Oleksandr Mykolayovych (December 2023-)

References

{{Border Guard of Ukraine State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2001 Brigades of Ukraine