InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community has gathered and structured evidence of the participation of servicemen from 32 military units of the Russian Armed Forces in the operation to seize and occupy Crimea.
To date, it is the largest database on the Russian army activity in the invasion of Crimea based on OSINT investigations. In this feature, we are listing identified units with links to the relevant InformNapalm investigations. In addition to the invasion of Crimea, servicemen of 22 units from this list, also took part in the hostilities against Ukraine in Donbas. This is yet another confirmation that the hybrid Russian military aggression in eastern Ukraine is a continuation of the war that the Russian Federation with its operation in Crimea.
The list of units of the Russian Armed Forces participating in the seizure of Crimea
- 7057th Naval Aviation Base of the Black Sea Fleet (military unit #49311, Kacha village, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 68th Sea Area Defense Brigade (military unit #26977, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 11th Brigade of Anti-submarine Ships (military unit #42948, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 519th Spy Ship Squadron of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (military unit #53189, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 41st Brigade of Missile Boats of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (military unit #72165, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 197th Brigade of Landing Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (military unit #72136, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 184th Sea Area Defense Brigade of the Novorossiysk Naval Base (military unit #90921, Novorossiysk, Russian Federation). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 758th Material Supply Center (military unit #63876, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 15th Missile Brigade of Coastal Defense (military unit #80365, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 34th Control Brigade of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District (military unit #29202, Vladikavkaz, Republic of North Ossetia) [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the occupation of Crimea];
- 15th Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #90600, Roshchinsky town, Samara Oblast). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 7th Armored Brigade (military unit #89547, Chebarkul city, Chelyabinsk Oblast). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 2nd Special Operations Brigade of the Main Intelligence Directorate (military unit #64044, Promezhitsy district, Pskov city). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 18th Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit # 27777, Khankala town and Kalinovskaya village, Chechnya, Russian Federation. Note: from 2009 to 2016 it was 18th MRB. From December 7, 2016 the brigade was reorganized into the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the reconstituted 42nd Motorized Rifle Division). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 66th Signals and Control Brigade (military unit #41600, Stavropol). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 10th Special Forces Brigade (military unit #51532, Molkino village, Goryachy Klyuch, Krasnodar Territory, Russian Federation). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 19th Motorized Rifle Brigade(military unit #20634, Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 7th Mountain Division of Airborne Troops (military unit #61756, Novorossiysk. Note: 108th (military unit #42091) and the 247th (military unit #54801) airborne regiments make part of the division). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 16th Special Forces Brigade (military unit #54607, Tambov). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 21st Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #12128, Totskoye village, Orenburg Oblast). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 76th Guards Airborne Division (military unit #07264, Pskov. Note: the following subunits of the division were spotted in Ukraine: 104th Airborne Regiment (military unit #32515 and 234th Airborne Regiment (military unit #74268). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 99th Logistics Brigade (military unit #72153, Maykop, Adygea). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 32nd Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #22316, Shylovo village, Novosibirsk Oblast) [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 31st Air Assault Brigade military unit #73612, Ulyanovsk). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #63354, Buinaksk, Dagestan). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 34th Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #01485, Storozhevaya-2 village, Karachay-Cherkess Republic). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit #21005, Yurga, Kemerovo Oblast). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 810th Marine Brigade (military unit #13140, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea. [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 7th Military Base (military unit 09332, occupied Abkhazia, Georgia). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 291st Artillery Brigade (military unit #64670, Troitskaya village, Republic of Ingushetia). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 346th Special Forces Brigade (military unit #31681, Prokhladny, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
- 22nd Special Forces Brigade (military unit #11659, Stepnoy). [Listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in operations in Crimea and Donbas];
The presented data largely complement the list of the military assets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation deployed for the occupation of Crimea which was made public by the Military Prosecutor’s office of Ukraine in 2016. It is worth noting that the list of Ukrainian military prosecutors contains several units that are not on the Crimea list of InformNapalm, which means that the volunteers have not yet found open-source evidence against them. However, personnel of most of these units was spotted in the hostilities in Donbas.
The data of the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine
The list of units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which, according to the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, took part in the invasion of Crimea:
- 45th Airborne Special Forces Regiment (military unit 28337, Kubinka). [Note: listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the Donbas hostilities];
- 98th Airborne Division (military unit #65451 Ivanovo).[Note: listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the Donbas hostilities];
- 331st Airborne Regiment (military unit #71211, Kostroma)[Note: listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the Donbas hostilities];
- 25th Special Forces Regiment (GRU) (military unit 05525, Stavropol);
- 3rd Special Operations Brigade (GRU) (military unit #21208, Tolyatti);[Note: listed in the InformNapalm evidence database for participation in the Donbas hostilities];
- 727th Separate Marine Battalion of Caspian Flotilla (military unit 20264, Astrakhan).[Also featured in InformNapalm investigations on Syria];
Conclusions
On November 8, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague confirmed its jurisdiction in the lawsuit of Ukraine against Russia dealing with the violation by Moscow of the UN Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
In the past years, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has periodically attached InformNapalm investigation materials to the files of lawsuits of Ukraine against Russia at international courts. InformNapalm volunteers are proud of their contribution to Ukraine’s resistance effort to Russian aggression in the legal, as well media and diplomatic fields. Hybrid international terrorism of the Russian servicemen as well as senior military and political leadership of the Russian Federation must receive due media coverage and inevitable punishment.
