64th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

The 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Military Unit Number 51460) is a motorized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. Based at Knyaze-Volkonskoye, near Khabarovsk, the brigade is part of the Eastern Military District's 35th Army.

64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
(2009–present)
882nd Motor Rifle Regiment
(1967–2009)
Sleeve patch of the brigade
Active1967–present
Country Soviet Union (1967–1991)
 Russia (1992–present)
BranchSoviet Army (1967–1991)
Russian Ground Forces (1992–present)
TypeMotorized infantry brigade
Part of35th Army
Garrison/HQKnyaze-Volkonskoye
MUN 51460
Engagements2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt. Colonel Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov

The brigade traces its heritage back to the 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment, which transferred to the Far East in 1967, and which was converted into the brigade in 2009.

History

In August 1967, the 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment of the 60th Tank Division, based at Gorky in the Moscow Military District, was transferred to a mobilization motor rifle division in the Far Eastern Military District. The regiment arrived at Knayaze-Volkonskoye and joined the 129th Motor Rifle Training Division in October 1967. At the end of 1970 it was moved to Krasnaya Rechka and became part of the 270th Motor Rifle Division in the 45th Army Corps. On 1 November 1972, the division became part of the 15th Army.[1]

In October 1974, the regiment became a ready reaction unit. On 11 May 1980, it was reduced to a Category B strength. In December 1994, it was brought up to wartime strength. Between 8 and 9 January 1995, elements of the regiment were sent to fight in the First Chechen War as part of the 245th Motor Rifle Regiment, then forming at Mulino. On 1 September 1997, the regiment was transferred to the 81st Guards Motor Rifle Division. On 6 June 1999, the regiment was directly subordinated to the headquarters of the Far Eastern Military District.[1]

In 2001 it was withdrawn from the ready reaction force. In June, the regiment became part of the 270th Motor Rifle Division, again in the 35th Army. In 2009, the regiment was converted into the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.[2] In 2012, the brigade was relocated to Knyaze-Volkonskoye.[3] In January 2014, a T-72 tank of the brigade exploded during target practice, killing an officer and two conscript soldiers.[4]

The unit was deployed northwest of Kyiv during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The brigade was named by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense as responsible for the Bucha massacre in March, where bodies were found mutilated and burnt, and girls as young as fourteen reported being raped.[5][6][7] Ukraine's Ministry of Defense stated that it knew the names and other personal information of several soldiers tied to the brigade.[8]

Shortly afterward, on 18 April 2022, the brigade received the honorary guards status from Russian president Vladimir Putin and became known as the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[9][10]

References
  1. "Мотострелковый полк (г. Хабаровск)" [Motor rifle regiment at Khabarovsk]. mil.ru (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. 2006. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  2. "Войсковая часть 51460 (64-я ОМСБр)". voinskayachast.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  3. "ИСТОРИЯ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ БРИГАДЫ" [Learn the history of the brigade]. melchnic-info.ucoz.ru (in Russian). 64th Motor Rifle Brigade. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. Goryainov, Andrei (31 January 2014). "Взрыв танка Т-72 на полигоне "Млечник", погибли лейтенант и два рядовых срочной службы" [T-72 explodes at the Mlechnik range, killing officer and two enlisted conscripts]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. Berehulak, Daniel; Gall, Carlotta (2022-04-11). "Bucha's Month of Terror". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  6. Archive, View Author; feed, Get author RSS (2022-04-13). "Nine women and girls in Bucha pregnant after 'systematic rape' by Russian troops". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-04-19. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  7. Halpert, Madeline. "Putin Honors Army Unit Accused Of Bucha Killings". Forbes.
  8. Mirovalev, Mansur (2022-04-04). "Bucha killings: 'The world cannot be tricked anymore'". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  9. Hannah Ritchie, Masha Angelova and Rob Picheta. "Putin gives honorary title to brigade accused of Bucha war crimes". Retrieved 2022-04-19.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. "64th Detached Motor Rifle Brigade receives honourary Guards title". President of Russia. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
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