Somalia_Battalion

Somalia Battalion

Somalia Battalion

Military unit

Separate Guards Assault Battalion "Somalia" named after M. S. Tolstykh (OSB Somalia , military unit 08828; Russian: Отдельный гвардейский штурмовой батальон «Сомали» имени М. С. Толстых, ОШБ Сомали, в/ч 08828), often known as Somalia Battalion, is a military unit of Russian Ground Forces. Until January 1, 2023 it was part of so called self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR). In September 2022, with a decree of Vladimir Putin, Russia unilaterally "annexed" occupied areas of Ukraine, and after that, military units of DPR and LPR were officially incorporated in Russian Armed Forces.[citation needed]

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The unit is permanently stationed in Donetsk and Makiivka.[citation needed] Its current commander is Timur Kurilkin.[1]

History

Member of the Somalia Battalion in Donetsk Airport

The Somalia Battalion was formed in 2014 and participated in the Donbas war. The origin of its name is unconfirmed, it could be due to the fact that when its members lined up for the first time, they were dressed in motley clothing and thus looked not like a combat force, but Somali pirates.[2] Or it could be from Givi's claim; "they are as fearless as Somali pirates".[3]

It was originally a special task force under the Ministry of Defense of the Donetsk People's Republic,[4] a self-proclaimed breakaway state in eastern Ukraine. In 2015 the breakaway states Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic, and all their military units, were designated as terrorist organisations by the Supreme Court of Ukraine.[5][6]

In February 2017, the unit's commander, Mikhail Tolstykh ('Givi'), was assassinated in his office with a RPO-A Shmel rocket launcher. It is alleged he was killed by his own side because he knew who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, or that he was killed by Ukrainian forces.[4]

The battalion took part in the Siege of Mariupol alongside Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7] In 2022, while being decorated by the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, Senior Lieutenant of the Somalia Battalion Roman Vorobyov was shown wearing a Totenkopf an old German army symbol and a valknut symbol on his arm patch; both symbols are associated with Nazi Germany.[8] The battalion participated in the Battle of Avdiivka.[9]

Equipment

Main article: List of equipment used by Russian separatist forces of the war in Donbas

The battalion has T-64 and T-72 tanks, BMP-1, BTR-70, MT-LB and BRDM-2 armoured fighting vehicles as well as supporting artillery, mortars and transport vehicles.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    ХАНАРИН, Никита МАКАРЕНКОВ | Павел (2022-04-03). "Донбасскому комбату "Сомали" Тимуру Курилкину присвоили звание Героя ДНР и передали Орден Мужества от Путина". donetsk.kp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  2. [2]
    Matveeva, Anna (2016). "No Moscow stooges: Identity polarization and guerrilla movements in Donbass". Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 16: 25–50. doi:10.1080/14683857.2016.1148415. S2CID 147889215.
  3. [3]
    Kim, Lucian (2014-11-04). "The Battle of Ilovaisk: Details of a Massacre Inside Rebel-Held Eastern Ukraine". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  4. [4]
    Šmíd, Tomáš & Šmídová, Alexandra. (2021). Anti-government Non-state Armed Actors in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Czech Journal of International Relations, Volume 56, Issue 2. pp.45-46.
  5. [5]
    "Про Заяву Верховної Ради України "Про визнання Україною юрисдикції Міжнародного кримінального суду щодо скоєння злочинів проти людяності та воєнних злочинів вищими посадовими особами Російської Федерації та керівниками терористичних організацій "ДНР" та "ЛНР", які призвели до особливо тяжких наслідків та масового вбивства українських громадян"]". Verkhovna Rada (in Ukrainian).
  6. [6]
    "Постанова Верховного Суду щодо визнання діяльності терористичною". Supreme Court of Ukraine (in Ukrainian).
  7. [7]
    "Донбасскому комбату "Сомали" Тимуру Курилкину присвоили звание Героя ДНР и передали Орден Мужества от Путина". 3 April 2022.
  8. [8]
    "A soldier with neo-Nazi symbols on his arm was given a medal by a Russia-backed separatist republic for killing Ukrainian 'nationalists'". Business Insider. 6 April 2022.
  9. [9]
    https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-17-2023
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