Russian elite marine brigade suffers heavy losses in Ukraine
The losses within the Russian elite 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet, which participated in the battle for Vuhledar, are estimated at approximately 2,400 people, according to the BBC. This represents about 80% of the entire unit. Prior to the war, the brigade consisted of about 3,000 soldiers.
Since the first day of the invasion, the 155th Marine Brigade has been engaged in the war in Ukraine. This unit fought in the Kyiv region before retreating to Belarus and was later transferred to Donbas. Its main objective was capturing the stronghold of Vuhledar.
The elite brigade has ceased to exist
A few months later, in November 2022, pro-Russian military bloggers reported significant losses suffered by the brigade during an offensive near the village of Pavlivka (approximately 3 kilometres from Vuhledar).
The infantry even lodged a complaint to the governor of Primorsky Krai about the "large and pointless" losses in personnel and equipment. In just four days, the Russians lost around 300 people.
They were transferred to Kursk
The Russian Ministry of Defence, as usual, downplayed the complaint. In response to the soldiers' allegations, they claimed that losses over 10 days did not exceed 1% killed and 7% wounded.
At present, the 155th Brigade is operating in the Kursk region, where it was transferred in August 2024, following the onset of the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian region.
In August, fighters from this brigade released a video that showed the severed head of a Ukrainian soldier mounted on a pole in the Belgorod region.
Vuhledar, which the brigade had been attacking since 2022, only came under full Russian control at the start of October.
The history of the 155th Brigade clearly illustrates the exhaustion of Russian formations fighting in the most challenging sections of the front, comments the BBC.
On Friday, "The New York Times" reported that since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has lost over 600,000 soldiers (killed and wounded), and September has become the bloodiest month in history. At the same time, Kyiv's losses are reported to be about half as much.
