The 1st Mobile Border Guard Detachment "Hart" also known as the Hart Brigade (Ukrainian: Гарт, romanized: Hart) is an assault brigade of the Offensive Guard.
It was established in 1993 on the basis of the Mariupol checkpoint as the Donetsk border control unit. It was reorganized into the Donetsk border detachment in 2000.
War in Donbass
During the War in Donbass, it saw combat on multiple occasions. On 14 June 2014, the detachment saw combat during the Battle of Mariupol suffering some wounded.[2][3][4] The Novoazovsk checkpost of the detachment came under attack by separatists from 2 to 3 July 2014, during its defense, a guardsman of the detachment (Volodymyr Mykolayovych Presnyakov) was killed in combat on 2 July 2014,[5] and another guardsman (Oleg Mykolayovych Semenovskyi) was killed in combat the next day.[6] On 5 July 2014, 15 separatists on 2 small watercraft landed on the coast of the Sea of Azov in Siedove near a maritime observation post of the detachment and attacked the post with small arms and mortars killing a guardsman of the detachment (Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Kovalev) and wounding eight more, after a fierce battle, the separatists were forced to retreat.[7] Amongst the wounded, a guardsman (Oleksiy Viktorovych Tsygankov) later died of his injuries on 9 July 2014.[8] On 31 July 2014, during the Battle at the border, a separatist sabotage and reconnaissance group attacked the detachment's position near Vasylivka with mortars and grenade launcher, as a result of which, four soldiers of the detachment (Oleksandr Oleksandrovich Basak,[9] Oleg Volodymyrovych Parshutin,[10] Chernomorchenko Rostislav Oleksandrovych,[11] Yurii Volodymyrovych Filippovskyi[12]) were killed in action and eleven more were wounded. On 7 August 2014, a UAZ vehicle of the detachment ran into a radio-controlled explosive device near the Uspenka checkpoint, a guardsman of the detachment (Matvienko Andrii Vitaliyovych) and killed and some others were wounded.[13] On 14 August 2014, the bridge in Uspenka was attacked by separatists coming from Stepne at night resulting in the death of a guardsman of the detachment (Dyumin Roman Viktorovych) and wounding of several more.[14] On 23 August 2014, the detachment attacked KamAZ truck with personnel and 2 KamAZ trucks with weapons and ammunition moving in a convoy accompanied by two armored personnel carriers from the Russian Federation, destroying all three trucks, two guardsmen of the detachment (Mykola Leonidovych Nikolenko[15] and Oleksiy Leonidovych Vasylchenko[16]) were also killed.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the detachment engaged Russian forces on multiple occasions. It took part in the Battle of Marinka during which on 19 March 2022, a guardsman of the detachment (Herbin Mykola Valentinovych) was killed in combat.[17] Lieutenant Colonel Dominyuk Leonid Anatoliyovych, head of the commandant's department of the Donetsk border detachment of was killed in action on 17 April 2022 during the Siege of Mariupol.[18][19][20][21][22] On 24 April 2022, a guardsman of the detachment (Serhiy Nenashev) was killed in action during the Battle of Lysychansk. On 7 May 2022, a guardsman of the detachment was killed in Azovstal during the Siege of Mariupol[23] and was posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine.[24] On 8 May 2022, another guardsman of the detachment (Shumenko Vadym Oleksandrovich) was killed as a result of an airstrike on Azovstal.[25] On 27 July 2022, it was awarded the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery".[26] A guardsman of the detachment (Kerod Stanislav Olegovich) was captured by Russian forces in Mariupol and was released on 6 December 2022.[27]
On 30 March 2023, a guardsman of the detachment (Vitaly Mykolayovych Hnatushok) was killed while performing a combat mission during the Battle of Bakhmut.[28]
The Donetsk Border Detachment was reformed into the Hart Brigade on 30 April 2024, on the Day of the Border Guard of Ukraine. The Hart Brigade joined the Offensive Guard.[29] The Hart Brigade has been actively engaged in combat against Russia, including repelling the Russian assault on the city of Vovchansk (Kharkiv region).[30][31][32]
On 16 September 2024, two guardsmen of the brigade (Oleksiy Kornienko[33] and Lesyk Roman[34]) were killed in action.
Equipment
The brigade actively uses equipment provided to Ukraine by foreign partners. Specifically, it is equipped with Roshel MRAPs manufactured in Canada[35][36] as well as AIVF-B-FUS IFVs and AIFV-B-C25 APCs.
The detachment was entrusted with the task of protecting the Russo-Ukrainian border in Donetsk Oblast with a total length of 310.5 kilometers, 178.5 kilometers on land, and 132 kilometers maritime along the Sea of Azov.
.png){kind=small}
