Vostok Brigade Explained

Unit Name:114th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade
Native Name:114-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая бригада
Dates:May 2014–present
Country: (2014–2022)
(2022–present)
Nickname:East Brigade
Command Structure: 1st Donetsk Army Corps
Branch: DPR People's Militia (2014–2022)
(2022–present)
Size:Brigade
Battles:War in Donbas

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Identification Symbol Label:Flag
Current Commander:Alexander Khodakovsky

The Vostok Brigade (Russian: Бригада «Восток») or 114th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade (Russian: 114-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая бригада, 114 омсбр; Military Unit Number 08818) is a military unit of Russian Ground Forces. Until January 1, 2023, it was part of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR). It is attached to the 1st Donetsk Army Corps. The brigade was created and is commanded by Alexander Khodakovsky. According to an interview with The Washington Post, DPR president Denis Pushilin, the battalion was formed by local separatists and has nothing to do with the Chechen unit of the same name.[1]

History

War in Donbas

The Vostok Brigade was form in May 2014 by Alexander Khodakovsky. Khodakovsky was the former commander of Ukraine's Alpha special unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). During the 2014 insurgency in Donbas, he defected to the Donetsk People's Republic.[2] He later created the Vostok Battalion which was later expanded into a brigade.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine

During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Vostok Brigade was in charge of defending the village of Urozhaine which is on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. The village was described by The New York Times as a "stronghold" and an important part of the Russian defensive network on the Velyka Novosilka axis.[3] Despite this, Russian media and Khodakovsky himself made it clear that the strategically important village would be solely defended by the Vostok Brigade against multiple units from the Ukrainian Marine Corps.

Fighting for the village began on 6 August 2023, and Khodakovsky announced that the Vostok Brigade would be withdrawing from the village on 15 August, stating that their defensive position had become untenable.[4] [5] [6] Ukraine announced the liberation of the settlement on 16 August, and has been noted using artillery to shell retreating members of the Vostok Brigade resulting in high casualties among Khodakovsky's troops.[7] [8] [9] [10] On 17 February 2024 after the Battle of Avdiivka, the brigade was thanked by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.[11]

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20140602100857/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/01/us-ukraine-crisis-vostok-idUSKBN0EC1LL20140601
  2. Web site: Министр безопасности ДНР Ходаковский подал в отставку. ВЗГЛЯД.РУ.
  3. News: Ukraine Makes 'Tactically Significant' Progress in Its Counteroffensive. 13 August 2023. The New York Times . 12 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230820093633/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war.html. August 20, 2023 . Santora . Marc .
  4. Web site: Bailey . Riley . Barros . George . Wolkov . Nicole . Harward . Christina . Stepanenko . Kateryna . Kagan . Frederick W. . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 6, 2023 . . 7 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230812223527/https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-6-2023. August 12, 2023.
  5. Web site: Bailey . Riley . Mappes . Grace . Evans . Angelica . Harward . Christina . Kagan . Frederick W. . 10 August 2023 . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 10, 2023 . 2023-08-11 . Institute for the Study of War. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823130833/https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-10-2023. August 23, 2023.
  6. Web site: Wolkov . Nicole . Evans . Angelica . Bailey . Riley . Harward . Christina . Clark . Mason . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 12, 2023 . . 13 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230812223326/https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-12-2023. August 12, 2023.
  7. Web site: Mappes . Grace . Wolkov . Nicole . Hird . Karolina . Harward . Christina . Evans . Angelica . Clark . Mason . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 15, 2023 . . 16 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230819105252/https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-15-2023. August 19, 2023.
  8. News: Polityuk . Pavel . Kelly . Lidia . Balmforth . Tom . Ukraine retakes southeast village of Urozhaine from Russian forces . . 16 August 2023 . 16 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823220755/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-recaptures-urozhaine-donetsk-region-russian-forces-2023-08-16/. August 23, 2023.
  9. Web site: Said-Moorhouse . Lauren . Stambaugh . Alex . Nechyporenko . Kostan . Ukraine reclaims village in Donetsk region from Russian troops amid grueling counteroffensive . . 16 August 2023 . 16 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230824031053/https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/europe/urozhaine-donetsk-ukraine-reclaims-intl/index.html. August 24, 2023.
  10. Web site: Axe . David . Ukrainian Cluster Shells Massacred Russian Troops Fleeing Urozhaine . . 16 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230816142723/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/08/14/ukrainian-cluster-shells-massacred-russian-troops-fleeing-urozhaine/?sh=1602bdcc3d94. August 16, 2023.
  11. Web site: Андрею Мордвичёву, генерал-полковнику. February 17, 2024. Президент России.

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