This is a list of military units in the 2014 Crimean crisis. At the date of writing (May 2014) this includes (a) the Armed Forces of Ukraine units stationed in Crimea at the time the crisis began, (b) the Russian units stationed in the Crimea at the time the crisis began, and (c) the Russian units that entered Crimea until the peninsula was formally annexed by the Russian Federation.
Russia By governmental treaty, Russia was allowed to station a limited number of troops in Crimea, specifically 25.000. During the conflict, there appeared numerous fully equipped soldiers, who bore no military rank insignia or cockade. The official position of the Russian government was that Russia was uninvolved in events on the peninsula and that these troops did not belong to the Russian federation, but were based on the local initiatives.
Many vehicles used by unmarked soldiers have Russian license plates. Ukrainian troops reported that the pro-Russian forces stated they were Russian, spoke perfect Russian, and in one case arrived in Russian planes
Commanders Chief of General Staff - General of the Army Valery Gerasimov Commander, Southern Military District - Russian Occupational Forces - Lieutenant General Igor Turcheniuk, deputy commander, Southern Military DistrictRussian units in the Crimea are commanded by the deputy chief of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation Igor Turchenyuk. RBK Ukraine. March 2, 2014 Black Sea Fleet - Vice Admiral Aleksandr Vitko Main Intelligence Administration (GRU) - Lieutenant General Igor Sergun
Land force 18th Detached Yevpatorian Red Banner Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade (Chechen Republic) (18-я гвардейская Евпаторийская Краснознаменная мотострелковая бригада). 1st Mechanized Battalion "Vostok" 31st Air Assault Brigade (Airborne Forces) (Ulyanovsk) 76th Guards Air Assault Division (Airborne Forces), possibly (Pskov) 7th Guards Airborne Division (Airborne Forces) (Novorossiisk), possibly 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade (GRU) (Krasnodar Krai), allegedly 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment (Moscow)
Navy Black Sea Fleet 810th Naval Infantry Brigade Kuban Cossacks (used as auxiliaries) four ships purposely scuttled to block the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine Important ships: Moskva Baltic Fleet Northern Fleet
Ukraine
On 19 March 2014, the Ukrainian military announced plans to withdraw all personnel and their families (up to 25,000 people) from the Crimean peninsula.
Units that RUSI identified in the Crimea:A Fragile Opportunity: The 2013 Iranian Election and its Consequences 55th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade, Pereval'ne 5th Marine Battalion, Feodosiya 801st Naval Spetsnaz Battalion, Feodosiya
Air force
204th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Belbek Air Base: Base mostly occupied by pro-Russian forces since February 27, fully taken over by Russian soldiers on 23 March.
Navy On 19 March, Russian media reported that the Russian flag flew over 189 Ukrainian military units, and that there were no naval vessels in Crimea still flying the Ukrainian flag.
Southern Naval Base (Ukraine) The Ukrainian fleet was largely surrounded by the Russian fleet and thus inoperable by the Ukrainian command. On the Donuzlav Lake since the night between 5 and 6 March, seven Ukrainian vessels were blocked by sunken Russian vessels. Lutsk (U205), Vinnytsia (U206), Chernihiv (U310), Cherkasy (U311), Henichesk (U360), Kirovohrad (U401) and Konstyantin Olschansky (U402)Военно-морская национализация | Hubs
Sevastopol Naval Base Two Ukrainian vessels were trapped in the Bay of Sevastopol at the Streletska bukhta, a submarine Zaporizhzhia (U01) and a small anti-submarine vessel Khmelnytskyi U208.
Land forces
Internal Troops of Ukraine Source: 9th Independent Interior Troops Brigade, Simferopol 42nd Independent Interior Troops Brigade, Sevastopol 47th Independent Interior Troops Brigade, Feodosia 15th Independent Interior Troops Battalion, Yevpatoria 18th Motor Police Battalion, Gaspra
State Border Guard Service
Independent Special Purpose Border Guard Battalion, Yalta
Autonomous Republic of Crimea
Crimea was controlled by a mixture of militias and unmarked, pro-Russian soldiers. The new authorities in Crimea announced the creation of the independent Armed Forces of Crimea, which as of 10 March apparently included about 186 soldiers.Aksenov began to form a new army in the Crimea for protection of referendum. TSN. March 10, 2014
References