Military unit
The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was a formation of the Russian Ground Forces based in Orenburg Oblast. It was formed on 1 June 2009 from the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform.[1]
In 2014, the brigade was involved in the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.[2] In the spring of 2024, the 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Division was revived and 21st Brigade disbanded.[3]
History
In August 2014 the brigade's units fought in the Battle of Ilovaisk. On 29 August, during a Ukrainian breakthrough attempt from Ilovaisk, a "northern" column of Ukrainian forces took the fight with 21st brigade's troops on a road between Voznesenka and Horbatenko villages.[4] A Ukrainian T-64 tank and several BMP-2s of 51st Mechanized Brigade were able to destroy two T-72BA tanks[5][6][7] and a BMP-2[8] of the 21st Motor Rifle Brigade. Another 21st brigade's T-72BA tank was destroyed near Kumachove village, presumably by a Tochka-U missile strike of the 19th Missile Brigade.[9]
A Ukrainian Headquarters briefing held on 11 March 2015 noted the 21st Motor Rifle Brigade units are operating near Yenakiieve, Ukraine.[10]
Bodies of soldiers, reportedly from the division, which were killed in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine near Rusaniv [uk] were among six that were to be swapped for two captured Ukrainian soldiers in an exchange in March 2022.[11]
2024
Becoming 27th Motor Rifle Division as of April 2024, consisting of: [12]
- 433rd Motor Rifle Regiment,
- 506th Motor Rifle Regiment,
- 589th Motor Rifle Regiment,
- 268th self-propelled artillery regiment,
- 1107th separate anti-tank artillery division,
- 838th separate anti-aircraft missile division,
- 907th separate reconnaissance battalion,
- 1614th separate engineer battalion,
- 834th separate communications battalion,
- 140th separate logistics battalion,
- 341st separate medical battalion
Commanders
- Colonel Andrey Sergeevich TRIFONOV [13]
References