I just wanted to give a quick update to the video I put out “Mapping the Defeat of Russia’s
Arctic Troops in Ukraine”.
That video maps the journey of Russia’s 200th Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade from pre-war
to its defeat north of Kharkiv.
New original reporting has come out on the 200th, published by the Washington Post on
the 16th of December.
I’ve linked both that article and my original video in the description.
To recap events, the 200th Arctic Brigade is a specialized mechanized infantry brigade
stationed in the Arctic Circle.
Starting around January 24th, the brigade was moved by train from its arctic garrison
to a training area east of Kursk.
It has now been confirmed it deployed two battalion tactical groups, each likely consisting
of a motor rifle battalion reinforced by a tank company, artillery and other assets.
After detraining, they exercised for about 20 days, before conducting a road movement
towards Rakitnoe closer to the Ukrainian border on February 19th.
This march was heavily documented by passersby, but there was a footage blackout thereafter.
The Washington Post article states that the 200th commenced their cross border assault
from Malinovka along route E105, implying an additional movement between the 19th and
24th.
According to the Washington Post, the soldiers of the 200th still believed they were conducting
drills at this time, and weren’t informed they would be entering combat until 3am in
the early morning of the invasion.
After crossing over the border, the 200th Brigade was engaged by Ukrainian territorial
defense militias and mechanized infantry north of Kharkiv, and were stopped short of entering
the city.
Although it’s not stated in the article, based on the locations of abandoned equipped,
I speculate elements of the brigade initially traveled along two main axes.
One along route E105 towards Pytomnyk, which would have been the element that tried to
cut the junction of E40 and Lesia Serdyuka Street, and another along T2117 towards Derhachi.
The Royal United Services Institute’s preliminary lessons from the conflict state that Russian
units had been “ordered to advance in administrative column by road and to attempt to bypass any
initial resistance.”
The intent was to capture key points before Ukraine could mobilize, and transition to
stability operations by the 10th day.
A column march is one of the fastest ways to move, but moving fast with little security
led to some pretty predictable outcomes on the first day.
Additionally, it has now been confirmed that Colonel Denis Kurilo, the brigade’s commander,
was not killed as reported in March.
In my first video I referenced Ukraine’s claim of his death, but was skeptical due
to the lack of evidence.
Turns out the Ukrainians had good reason to believe they killed him.
Kurllo was severely injured in a strike on his vehicle, leaving him with a traumatic
brain injury requiring hospitalization.
Internal brigade documents reveal that the Colonel was hospitalized at least in late
April, and his wife confirmed that he had stopped serving with the unit around this
period.
After being badly beaten, the brigade withdrew across the border into Russia sometime in
May.
In June it was reported in Russian media that the brigade would be reinforced by a mixed
group of volunteers, consisting of Northern Fleet sailors, rear echelon personnel, and
coastal defense units.
The Washington Post reports that out of the estimated 1,400 to 1,600 soldiers the 200th
Brigade entered Ukraine with, only 892 were left, a handful of which required hospitalization
or otherwise refused to fight.
The internal documents, however, don’t include exact figures of the killed or wounded in
action
However, the Washington Post does reference that 1,274 schoolchildren in Murmansk now
qualify for free meals due to their parents being either killed or wounded in Ukraine.
The 80th Arctic and 61st Naval Infantry Brigades also garrisoned in Murmansk have also deployed
to Ukraine.
But after their brief rest south of Belgorod, the 200th was soon redeployed north of Kharkiv
near the Russian border some time in June.
Ukrainian forces noted an uptick in effectiveness and discipline when compared to eastern Ukrainian
separatists, especially in the realm of fires.
Although this discipline soon degraded heading into July.
The 200th was one of the units that were pushed back in the vicinity of Kupiansk during Ukraine’s
September counteroffensive east of Kharkiv.
Now, the brigade is left battered somewhere in Luhansk, possibly down to reduced battalion
strength, low in morale, and heavily backfilled by conscripts and other repurposed personnel.
This is based on Washington Post interviews with veterans of the 200th and conscripts
who are backfilling it, as well as signal intercepts passed onto the agency by the Ukrainians.
If you want to get a more detailed look at the first weeks of the 200th Arctic Brigade’s
downfall in Ukraine, check out my first video on the topic.
I’ll see you over there.