3rd Guards Combined Arms Army explained

Unit Name:	3rd Guards Lugansk-Severodonetsk Combined Arms Army
Native Name:	3-я гвардейская Луганско-Северодонецкая общевойсковая армия
Dates:	7 October 2014 – 31 December 2022 (as part a breakaway state) 31 December 2022 – present (as part of Russia)
Type:	Combined arms
Size:	Army
Command Structure:	Southern Military District
Garrison:	Lugansk
Identification Symbol Label:	Sleeve patch
Nickname:	"Lugansk-Severodonetsk"
Commander1:	Major General Dmitry Sergeevich Ovcharov^[1]
Identification Symbol 3 Label:	Flag of the Luhansk People's Republic

The 3rd Guards Lugansk-Severodonetsk Combined Arms Army (ru|3-я гвардейская Луганско-Северодонецкая общевойсковая армия) is a military formation in the Russian Ground Forces as part of the Southern Military District. Formerly the 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People's Republic,^[2] it was officially incorporated into the Russian Federation on 31 December 2022, after the Russian annexation of the Luhansk Oblast,^[3] and then reformed into a Combined Arms Army in 2024.^[4]

History

2014–2022

See main article: Russian people's militias in Ukraine.

2024

In 2024, the 2nd Army Corps was reorganised into the 3rd Guards Combined Arms Army.^[5]

Structure

• 4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade^[6] (MUN 74347)
  • Leshiy Battalion^[7]
  • 2nd Motorized Rifle Territorial Defense Battalion
    • "Akhmat" Spetsnaz group^[8]
  • "Shustry" detachment of Chechen "Akhmat" Spetsnaz^[9]
• 6th Separate Cossack Motorized Rifle Brigade (MUN 69647)
• 7th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade^[10] (MUN 08807)
• 85th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (MUN 78064)^[11]
• 88th motorized rifle brigade^[12]
• 123rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade^[13] (MUN 73438) (formerly 2nd Motorized Rifle Brigade)
  • Zarya Battalion
• Separate Artillery Brigade (MUN 23213)
• 2nd Artillery Brigade^[14]
• 4th Territorial Defense Brigade "Prizrak"
• 201st Mechanized Regiment^[15]
• 39th Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Regiment^[16]
• Separate Commandant's Regiment (MUN 44444)
• 4th Separate Tank Battalion (MUN 64064) (formerly Separate Mechanised Battalion "August")
• Separate Anti-aircraft Missile Defense Artillery Battalion (MUN 23023)
• Separate Repair and Recovery Battalion (MUN 13931)
• Separate Command and Security Battalion "(MUN 73604)
• Separate Material Support Battalion (MUN 14941)
• Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (MUN 55055)
• Special Purpose Battalion
• 204th "Akhmat" Spetsnaz Regiment
  • "Okhotnik" Detachment
    • Chechen "Canada" group^[17]
• Reserve units:
  • 202nd Motor Rifle Regiment (disbanded September 2022)^[18]
  • 204th Motor Rifle Regiment (disbanded September 2022)
  • 208th Motor Rifle Regiment^[19]
  • 254th Motor Rifle Regiment

See also

• 51st Guards Combined Arms Army, formerly the 1st Army Corps
• 3rd Army Corps

References

1. Web site: 2-й гвардейский Луганско-Северодонецкий армейский корпус. Бывший корреспондент. 2024-07-26. 2024-08-17.
2. Web site: ‘Sent there to be meat’ Why Russian draftees are suddenly publishing so many video pleas to Putin . 2023-07-19 . Meduza . en.
3. Web site: 2022-12-31 . В состав ВС России вошли армейские корпуса ДНР и ЛНР . 2023-07-19 . РИА Новости . ru.
4. Web site: Evocation.info . 2024-08-24 . Telegram.
5. Web site: Бывший корреспондент . 2024-08-24 . Telegram.
6. News: Два полковника в одном бою: о чем говорит гибель российских офицеров под Бахмутом . ru . BBC News Русская служба . 2023-07-19.
7. Book: Crowther, Edward . Armed formations of the Luhansk People's Republic 2014-2022 . Crowther . Edward R. . 2023 . Helion & Company Limited . 978-1-80451-217-3 . War in Ukraine / Edward Crowther . Warwick.
8. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-10-31 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
9. https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-2-2024
10. Web site: 2022-01-22 . "Был в полной экипировке": на Донбассе пьяный боевик "ЛНР" пришел на позиции ВСУ (фото) . 2023-07-19 . ФОКУС . ru.
11. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-10-25 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
12. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-11-12 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
13. Web site: RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JULY 4, 2023 . 2023-07-19 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
14. Web site: 6 August 2024 . RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, AUGUST 6, 2024 . ISW Press.
15. Web site: RUSSIAN MILITARY TRANSFORMATION TRACKER, ISSUE 8: 16 JUNE-15 DECEMBER 2023 . 22 December 2023.
16. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-11-10 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
17. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-11-27 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
18. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2024-09-07 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
19. Web site: Zoria . Yuri . 2022-05-19 . Russia sends Donbas musicians and historians as "cannon fodder" in Ukraine war . 2024-09-07 . Euromaidan Press . en-US.