2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade
{{Short description|Russian Armed Forces Brigade}}{{Expand Russian|topic=mil|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 2nd Guards Separate Special Purpose Order of Zhukov Brigade
| native_name = 2-я отдельная бригада специального назначения
| image = Sleeve patch of the 2nd Separate Special Purpose Brigade.svg
| image_size =
| caption = Shoulder sleeve patch
| dates = 1962{{endash}}present
| country = {{Flag|Soviet Union}} (1962–1991)
{{RUS}} (1991–present)
| branch = 24px Spetsnaz GRU
| type = Special forces
| size = Brigade
| command_structure =
| garrison = Promezhitsy, Pskov Oblast
| motto =
| colors =
| colors_label =
| march =
| battle_honours = {{GuardsUnitRussia}}
| battles = First Chechen War
Second Chechen War
Russo-Georgian War
War in Donbas{{Cite web|last=Sutyagin|first=Igor|date=March 2015|title=RUSI Briefing Paper: Russian Forces in Ukraine|url=https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201503_bp_russian_forces_in_ukraine.pdf|publisher=Royal United Services Institute|page=2|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111112810/https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201503_bp_russian_forces_in_ukraine.pdf|url-status=dead}}
Russian invasion of Ukraine
| anniversaries =
| current_commander = Konstantin Bushuev
| decorations = Order of Zhukov
}}
The 2nd Guards Separate Special Purpose Order of Zhukov Brigade{{efn|{{Langx|ru|2-я отдельная гвардейская ордена Жукова бригада специального назначения|2-ya otdelnaya gvardeyskaya ordena Zhukova brigada spetsialnogo naznacheniya}}}} is a Spetsnaz GRU brigade of the Russian Armed Forces based in Promezhitsy, Pskov Oblast.{{Cite web|title=2nd independent Special Forces Brigade|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/gru/2obrsn.htm|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=2020-05-26}}
History
As part of increases to the GRU's Spetsnaz, on July 19, 1962, General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces Directive No. 140547 was issued, by which the 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade was to be formed in the Leningrad Military District. The creation of the brigade began on September 17, 1962 and ended on March 1, 1963.
Until 2008{{Cite web|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/08/14/pmc-structure-exposed/|title=Putin Chef's Kisses of Death: Russia's Shadow Army's State-Run Structure Exposed|date=14 August 2020|website=bellingcat|quote=Wagner Group – which does not exist on paper – got its name from its purported founder and commander}} or 2013, Dmitry Utkin served as lieutenant colonel and brigade commander of a unit of special forces of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the 700th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment of the 2nd Independent Brigade.{{cite web |last=Vaux |first=Pierre |url=http://www.interpretermag.com/fontanka-investigates-russian-mercenaries-dying-for-putin-in-syria-and-ukraine/|title=Fontanka Investigates Russian Mercenaries Dying For Putin In Syria And Ukraine|work=The Interpreter|date=29 March 2016|access-date=18 September 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Gostev|first1=Aleksandr|last2=Coalson|first2=Robert|url= https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-paramilitary-mercenaries-emerge-from-the-shadows-syria-ukraine/28180321.html|title=Russia's Paramilitary Mercenaries Emerge From The Shadows|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=16 December 2016|access-date=18 September 2017}}[https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2016/03/30/8151161.shtml Из Молькино в Пальмиру: как тренируют российских наемников] 31 March 2016. {{in lang|ru}}
The Brigade participated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite web|url = https://ua.news/ru/komandyr-pskovskogo-spetsnazu-vidmovyvsya-vykonuvaty-nakazy-rozvidka/|title = Командир псковського спецназу відмовився виконувати накази – розвідка|date = 16 March 2022|access-date = 14 April 2022|archive-date = 16 March 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220316223852/https://ua.news/ru/komandyr-pskovskogo-spetsnazu-vidmovyvsya-vykonuvaty-nakazy-rozvidka/|url-status = live}} On July 11, 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin awarded the unit the honorific unit status Guards for its actions in Ukraine.{{cite web|author=Rob Lee|title=Putin awarded the Guards status to the GRU/GU's 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade and 17th Army Aviation Brigade |url=https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1546533101001744387|access-date=2022-07-12}}
Structure
- Headquarters
- Signals Battalion (2x Company)
- Support Company
- 70th Special Purpose Detachment (roughly battalion equivalent)
- 329th Special Purpose Detachment
- 700th Special Purpose Detachment
- Training Battalion (2x Company)
Notes
{{Notelist}}