Vostok Brigade

114th Separate Guards Enakievo-Danube Order "For the Defense of Donetsk" Motor Rifle Brigade
114-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая Енакиево-Дунайская, ордена "За оборону Донецка" бригада
Victory Banner of the 114th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.
ActiveMay 2014–present
Country Donetsk People's Republic (2014–2022)
 Russia (2022–present)
BranchDonetsk People's Republic DPR People's Militia (2014–2022)
 Russian Ground Forces (2022–present)
SizeBrigade
Part of 51st Combined Arms Army
Garrison/HQDonetsk
MUN 08818
Nickname(s)East Brigade (Бригада «Восток»)
EngagementsWar in Donbas

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Battle honours
  • Guards unit Guards
  • Order «For the Defense of Donetsk»
Commanders
Current
commander		Alexander Khodakovsky

The 114th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Russian: 114-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая бригада, 114 омсбр; Military Unit Number 08818) or Vostok Brigade (Russian: Бригада «Восток») 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 51st Donetsk Combined Arms Army. 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

Emblem used by the Vostok Battalion in 2014

The Vostok Battalion was formed in May 2014 by Alexander Khodakovsky, the former commander of Ukraine's Alpha special unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who defected to the Donetsk People's Republic during the 2014 insurgency in Donbas.[2] Towards the end of 2014 the battalion was first upgraded to a "Special Brigade" (Спецбригада), and then in 2015 changed again to the 11th Separate Enakievo-Danube Motor Rifle Regiment "Vostok" within DPR 1st Army Corps.[3]

On 12 February 2016 the regiment was awarded the honorary designation "Guards".

On 3 November 2018 the regiment was awarded the order "For the Defense of Donetsk".[4]

Russian Invasion of Ukraine

At some point, either in the fall of 2022, after the unit was replenished with mobilized soldiers, or in January 2023, during the entry of the 1st Army Corps into the Russian Armed Forces, the regiment was reformed into the 114th Brigade.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6][7][8] 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.[9][10][11][12] 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.[13]

Ukrainian analysts from DeepState noted the resilience of the brigade claiming that it was able to conduct assault operations for 8 full months straight without withering down. The analysts suggested that this is due to extensive "hidden mobilization" that was able to replenish casualties.[14]

References

  1. ^ "More foreign fighters break cover among Ukraine separatists | Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2014-06-02.
  2. ^ "Министр безопасности ДНР Ходаковский подал в отставку". ВЗГЛЯД.РУ.
  3. ^ Crowther, Edward R.; Crowther, Edward R. (2022). Armed formations of the Donetsk People's Republic, 2014-2022. War in Ukraine / Edward Crowther. Warwick: Helion & Company Limited. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-915070-66-1.
  4. ^ a b "114-я мотострелковая бригада: участие в СВО, состав и вооружение" [114th Motor Rifle Brigade: participation in the SMO, composition and armament]. amalantra.ru. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  5. ^ Santora, Marc (12 August 2023). "Ukraine Makes 'Tactically Significant' Progress in Its Counteroffensive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ^ Bailey, Riley; Barros, George; Wolkov, Nicole; Harward, Christina; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Kagan, Frederick W. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 6, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. ^ Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Evans, Angelica; Harward, Christina; Kagan, Frederick W. (10 August 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 10, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  8. ^ Wolkov, Nicole; Evans, Angelica; Bailey, Riley; Harward, Christina; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 12, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. ^ Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Hird, Karolina; Harward, Christina; Evans, Angelica; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 15, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  10. ^ Polityuk, Pavel; Kelly, Lidia; Balmforth, Tom (16 August 2023). "Ukraine retakes southeast village of Urozhaine from Russian forces". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  11. ^ Said-Moorhouse, Lauren; Stambaugh, Alex; Nechyporenko, Kostan (16 August 2023). "Ukraine reclaims village in Donetsk region from Russian troops amid grueling counteroffensive". CNN. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  12. ^ Axe, David. "Ukrainian Cluster Shells Massacred Russian Troops Fleeing Urozhaine". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Андрею Мордвичёву, генерал-полковнику". Президент России. February 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "✙DeepState✙🇺🇦". Telegram. Retrieved 2024-08-28.