64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade

The 64th separate motorized rifle brigade is a tactical formation (brigade) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as part of the 35th combined-arms army. Conditional name - Military unit No. 51460 (military unit 51460). Abbreviated name - 64 omsbr. The brigade was formed on January 1, 2009 from the 882nd motorized rifle regiment of the 270th motorized rifle division. The brigade is located in the village of Knyaze-Volkonskoye (Khabarovsk Territory).

It consists of the 1st motorized rifle battalion, 2nd motorized rifle battalion, 3rd motorized rifle battalion, rifle company (snipers), tank battalion, 1st howitzer self-propelled artillery battalion, 2nd howitzer self-propelled artillery battalion, jet artillery battalion, anti-tank artillery battalion, anti-aircraft missile battalion, anti-aircraft missile and artillery battalion, reconnaissance ERNO-sapper battalion, company RKHBZ, Management Battalion (communications), a company of the REB, battery management and artillery reconnaissance (chief of artillery), management and radar reconnaissance platoon (Chief of Air Defense), the control platoon (chief of the intelligence department) repair and restoration battalion, material support battalion, commandant company, medical company, instructor platoon, simulator platoon, training ground, orchestra.

The origin of the brigade was the 60th Reserve Army, formed in the city of Gorky, Moscow Region. During the Great Patriotic War, in January 1942, it was reorganized into the 3rd shock army, which strengthened the combat capability of the units of the Northwestern Front. In the early 1950s, the unit became the 60th Tank Division, from which the 882nd Motorized Rifle Regiment was allocated in 1967.

The predecessor of the brigade is the 882nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 60th Sevsko-Warsaw Red Banner Tank, Order of the Suvorov Division, and later the 270th Motorized Rifle Division. In August 1967, the regiment at the 60th Tank Division of the Moscow Military District, stationed in the city of Gorky, was transferred to the framed units of the 270th Motorized Rifle Division in the Far Eastern Military District (DalVO). In October 1967, the formation arrived at the place of permanent deployment in the village. Knyaze-Volkonskoe, in the 129th training motorized rifle division of the DalVO, and at the end of 1970 it was redeployed to the town of Krasnaya Rechka and, as part of the 270th mechanized infantry division, was reassigned to the 45th army corps. On November 1, 1972, the regiment was included in the 15th Combined Arms Army. Since October 1974, the regiment was included in the immediate reaction forces. On May 11, 1980 the regiment was transferred to state number 5/107 "B". In December 1994, the regiment was completed to wartime staff.

On January 8-9, 1995, the regiment's personnel were sent to Mulino to replenish the 245th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, which went on a combat mission to "restore constitutional order" in the Chechen Republic. September 1, 1997, the regiment was withdrawn from the 270th Motorized Rifle Regiment. division and transferred to the 81st Guards Motorized Rifle Krasnograd Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division (81 Guards Msd). On June 6, 1999, the formation was withdrawn from the 81st Guards. MSD and re-entered the 270th MSD. In 2001, the 882nd motorized rifle regiment was withdrawn from the immediate reaction forces. Since June 2001, the 882nd Motorized Rifle Regiment was part of the 270th Motorized Rifle Division is part of the 35th Red Banner Army.

After the military reform of 2009, the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade was created on the basis of the regiment, which retained the open name - military unit 51460. Based on the directive of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation dated January 1, 2009, the brigade was formed on the basis of the 882nd motorized rifle regiment.

The infrastructure of the village of Knyaz-Volkonsky, on the territory of which military unit 51460 is located, is generally suitable for living. There are several shops, cafes, an ATM, the garrison House of Officers, an outpatient clinic and a post office. Urgent draft soldiers live in standard barracks with shared showers, washbasins and lavatories. A bedroom with bunk beds, at the entrance to it there are several wardrobes for storing uniforms and outerwear. Contract soldiers live in the same barracks or rent housing in Knyaz-Volkonsky or in the surrounding settlements.

Each soldier of military unit 51460 is provided with a bedside table for storing things permitted by the charter. These include shaving and personal care items, under collars, handkerchiefs, stationery, photo albums and some items for personal use. There is no washing machine, hot water is intermittent. On Saturdays, as part of the park and economic day, the fighters visit the bath and laundry plant on the territory of the unit. Also in the part are the buildings of the commandant's office, chipok, a canteen and a parade ground. In the dining room - civil outsourcing, a buffet is organized. Personnel and officers eat in the same room.

Training firing takes place at the training ground, which is quite difficult to be on. Firstly, it is located far from settlements and there are no normal living conditions. The exercises are held for 1-3 months in summer and winter. The specificity of the climatic and natural conditions of the Khabarovsk Territory is such that in summer there are a large number of mosquitoes on the site, and in winter it is quite cold.

In winter, soldiers and officers of military unit 51460 set up tents at the training ground and install several stoves in them. There is a sawmill where the soldiers prepare firewood (for this they are given outfits). Primitive wash basins and bathrooms have been installed. The club part has a library, but there is no infirmary and hospital. Instead, there is a medical officer of the unit, who gives the soldiers medicines as needed. Military personnel are allowed to purchase televisions for personal use. As a rule, fighters of military unit 51460 do this through relatives. It is also allowed to buy shoes on your own in one of the Khabarovsk military stores.

Communication with loved ones on a mobile phone is as follows. Phones are kept by the company commander and are given out to fighters upon request every evening. Among telecom operators, it is worth buying a SIM card from Megafon and MTS, Beeline rarely works. Because there are several electronic warfare installations in the vicinity of Knyaz-Volkonsky, mobile communications are intermittent.

Military personnel of military unit 51460 receive monetary allowances on the Gazprombank card. This is not very convenient because it is problematic to send money from cards of other banks. The possibility of money transfers exists only from the Qiwi payment system. The beneficiary bank details required by the Visa system are communicated with delays. Recently, an ATM of the Baltic Bank was installed at the checkpoint of the part, but a commission of about 3% of the amount is charged for withdrawals.

Sick servicemen of military unit 51460 are sent to the hospital of the village. Anastasievka or in the 301st district military hospital in Khabarovsk. Parcels and letters arrive at the address of the post office. Letters and notification of parcels are delivered to the unit. Soldiers receive parcels in a group of 10-15 people (they are accompanied by the unit commander to the post office).

The combat readiness of the 35th Army was checked in October 2017 by officers of the High Command of the Ground Forces. An inspection of such a high level takes place every five years. On the eve of the commission, combat skills were demonstrated by a tank company of a motorized rifle unit based in Yekaterinoslavka. Contract tankers of the 38th motorized rifle brigade moved to the Belogorievsky DVOKU training ground for the duration of the exam. The area should be unfamiliar - such a condition was set by the inspectors. The crews of combat vehicles had to demonstrate the impeccable fulfillment of the standard for loading ammunition and hit all the targets.

“Three targets: a tank, a recoilless gun on a car moving flank and a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. The frontiers are different, for each there are different options and these options are not repeated. A soldier cannot predict. The inspector determines which option will be used to determine the shooting,” said Azat Omurbekov, deputy commander of a motorized rifle brigade. While some tankers were passing the distance, others were improving the theory and skills of disassembling and assembling a machine gun, and still others were perfecting their technique of loading ammunition into a tank. Up to 3 minutes - "excellent" rating.

“The coherence of our crew has been achieved over time - we have been together for more than one year. We have achieved the result - we pass the standards with excellent marks,” said Alexander Ivakin, a driver-mechanic. As for shooting, all targets had to be hit for the highest mark. At the same time, hit the enemy tank with at least two shells. “There are two sights in the tank. We make corrections according to the figures. The figure to the left, right, down or up, so that there is neither overshoot nor undershoot,” explained gunner Vladimir Chalkin.

The exam for military personnel did not end with daytime firing. There was still a night ahead. Based on the results of a comprehensive audit, the Moscow commission will issue a verdict on the competence of the Amur contract servicemen.

The press service of the Eastern Military District reported on April 7, 2021, for the first time modern T-80BVM tanks entered service with the the tank battalion of the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 35th combined arms army of the Eastern Military District in the village of Knyaz-Volkonskoye (Khabarovsk Territory). The day before, several dozen tanks arrived in Khabarovsk as part of a train train. Previously, this tank battalion, according to known information, was equipped with T-80BV tanks.

Earlier, the personnel of the tank units of the motorized rifle unit took specialized courses for retraining for new equipment. The training of specialists took place on a modern educational and material base, including the latest computerized simulators and allowing in a short time to teach military personnel the operation and combat use of modern equipment and weapons. T-80BVM - Russian modernization of the T-80BV tank, developed by Omsktransmash. The modernization includes the installation of the Sosna-U multi-channel gunner's sight, which includes sighting, thermal imaging, rangefinding channels, as well as a missile control channel. The tank is equipped with a 125 mm cannon, a modified GTD-1250 gas turbine engine, an armament stabilizer and a TVN-5 driver's observation device.

Artillerymen of the formation of the Eastern Military District, stationed in the Jewish Autonomous Region, conducted a complex exercise at the Bijan training ground on 09 September 2020, during which they delivered a massive fire strike using 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery mounts, BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems and mortars 2B11.

Crews of 152-mm Msta-S self-propelled howitzers destroyed targets imitating command posts and communication centers of a mock enemy located at a distance of about 15 kilometers. Shooting was carried out from closed firing positions. At the same time, Grad rocket artillery crews covered the square of the accumulation of equipment and personnel of the mock enemy at a distance of about 20 kilometers. Calculations of mortars 2B11 worked out short distances at a distance of 2 to 5 kilometers along enemy earthen shelters with the transfer of fire to new coordinates.

Correction of fire on targets and control of their destruction was carried out by artillery reconnaissance units using Orlan-type UAVs. About 300 artillerymen and over 50 units of weapons and military equipment were involved in the complex exercise with live firing.

As Russian forces withdrew from the suburbs of Kyiv, they left a trail of death and destruction -- including mounting evidence of cold-blooded killings of Ukrainian civilians. Images showing the bodies of dead civilians in Bucha, which Russian forces occupied in early March and left around 01 April 2022, emerged and prompted international condemnation of Russia, including accusations of genocide and war crimes.

One man said a Russian sniper deliberately killed several people in the area, including one of his relatives. "A sniper started shooting in the area on March 5,” the man said. “When we left our house before the curfew time that day, a sniper killed my son-in-law. After that, it all started. They were shooting at everyone who was out,” the man said.

Another resident said he witnessed Russian soldiers killing three civilians by shooting them for no clear reason. RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. "After shooting one of them, they also threw a grenade on his body. We buried his parts later…. It was horrible," the man said, adding that his own brother was shot dead when he was walking to a bomb shelter on March 5.

"It was a system,” the man said. “They were killing people systematically. I personally heard how one sniper was boasting that he ‘offed’ two people he saw in apartment windows.... There was no need. There was no military justification to kill. It was just torturing civilians. On other blocks, people were really tortured. They were found with their hands tied behind their backs and shot in the back of the head.”

Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said on April 2 that about 300 locals had been killed during the Russian occupation of the town and that some 280 bodies had been discovered in a mass grave. Local residents said that what they saw after they emerged from their houses after Ukrainian forces recaptured the town was "horrific," with the bodies of dozens of civilians who had been shot dead lying in the streets.

The commander of Russian troops in Bucha was named by Ukrainian sources as more evidence of massacred civilians emerged from the city. Lt Colonel Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov leads the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, which occupied the city in the Kyiv region. He is said to have overseen atrocities in the region, including local women and children being raped and shot. Omurbekov was charge of unit 51460 of the 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. Forces from several other groups are also suspected of being in Bucha, including from the Fifth Separate Guards Tank Brigade of 36th army of the Russian Eastern military district and the 331st Parachute Assault Regiment of 98th airborne division.

Volunteers of InformNapalm found the data of the commander of the military unit of military unit 51460, the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade, who, according to preliminary data, was involved in war crimes in Bucha, Kiev region. They announced this in their Telegram. Volunteers group Tretya Sila reported: "In Bucha there was a military unit 51460 from the village of Knyaze-Volkonskoye, Khabarovsk region... Soon all these murderers, rapists and looters will be known by name." Under international law, a military commander is responsible for any war crimes committed by his troops.

Believed to be about 40 years old and dubbed by media outlets "the butcher of Bucha," Omurbekov was decorated for outstanding service in 2014 by Russian deputy defense minister Dmitry Bulgakov. Omurbekov was blessed by an Orthodox priest in November 2021 before his deployment to Ukraine, The Times of London reported. After a service led by the Bishop of Khabarovsk, Omurbekov said: "History shows that we fight most of our battles with our souls," the paper reported.

“We also managed to find the home address of the Russian executioner,” InformNapalm volunteers wrote, announcing the publication of data, archives and explanations on how to find the Russian commander. “Every Ukrainian should know their names. Remember. All war criminals will be tried and held accountable for crimes committed against the civilian population of Ukraine,” the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement published on its website. The detailed list of 87 pages with the names of more than 1,600 Russian soldiers allegedly involved in the massacre. In the list, military personnel are identified by military rank, first and last name, date of birth and passport data.

Russia’s defence ministry denied Russian forces killed civilians in Bucha. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that during the entire time this settlement was under the control of the Russian army, not a single local resident suffered from violent actions. Moscow is demanding an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss “Ukrainian radicals’ provocation” in Bucha (the town outside Kyiv where Russian troops slaughtered hundreds of civilians but deny it). Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow requested a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Kyiv’s attempts to disrupt peace talks and escalate violence with a “provocation” in Bucha. “Russian Federation requested a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in connection with the provocation of the Ukrainian military and radicals in the city of Bucha,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. “The idea behind the next crime of the ‘Kyiv’s regime’ is the disruption of peace negotiations and the escalation of violence.”

Because of the situation in Bucha, Russia demanded to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council on April 4. "We will bring presumptuous Ukrainian provocateurs and their Western patrons to clean water," said Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the World Organization.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation called photos and videos from the village of Bucha in the Kiev region another provocation of Kyiv. The Russian military, as noted in the department, left Bucha on March 30, and the mayor of the city, Anatoly Fedoruk, in his address on March 31, did not mention "any local residents shot in the streets with their hands tied." All "evidence of crimes" appeared only when employees of the Security Service of Ukraine arrived in Bucha, the ministry added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by images of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, and called for an independent investigation that “leads to effective accountability”. Guterres posted his comments on Twitter a day after witnesses and officials said that Russian troops killed hundreds of civilians as they withdrew from the town near Kyiv. “I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine,” Guterres said, joining Western officials in expressing outrage. "It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability,” he said. Ukraine’s prosecutor-general says the bodies of 410 civilians have been recovered from areas in the wider Kyiv region from which Russian forces withdrew.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called exemplary actions during the operation in Ukraine of the military personnel of the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade, which became the Guards. According to the press service of the Kremlin, this is stated in the congratulations to the command and personnel of the brigade. According to Putin, "this is a high honor and recognition of the special merits, mass heroism and courage shown in defending the Fatherland, upholding the sovereignty and national interests of Russia." "Skillful and resolute actions of the unit's personnel during the special military operation in Ukraine are an example of military duty, courage, selflessness and high professionalism," the head of state said.

"I am convinced that you, soldiers and officers - guardsmen, will continue to be faithful to the oath, serve the Motherland with honor, reliably ensure the safety and peaceful life of our citizens," Putin added. The President wished the command and personnel of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade good health and success.

A presidential decree was published on the official Internet portal of legal information , according to which the honorary title "Guards" was awarded to the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade - "for mass heroism and courage, fortitude and courage shown by the personnel of the brigade in combat operations to protect Fatherland and State Interests in the Conditions of Armed Conflicts.