2nd Special Forces Battalion 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov”

The commander was Comrade “Kirt,” the chief of staff was Comrade “Akula,” and the battalion consisted of the First Company under the command of Comrade “Karl,” the second company under the command of Comrade “Skripach,” the third company under the command of Comrade “Gati,” a special-purpose reconnaissance platoon under the command of Comrade “Partizan,” as well as a mortar unit under the command of Comrade “Dubka.”

The Second Battalion was formed on the basis of the Second (Iron) Company in 2016 by Comrade Kirt. In 2017, Comrade Akula took command, and in 2021, Comrade Raz Dva assumed command.

The 2nd Battalion, under the command of “Kirt,” was carrying out missions from infantry positions.

The 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion operated with heavy weapons, and a special-purpose reconnaissance platoon from the 2nd Battalion was also deployed to carry out the mission.

The 2nd Battalion was deployed as part of the “Azov” Battle Group, which carried out combat missions as part of the 30th Mechanized Brigade.

The 2nd Battalion deployed 120-mm mortars, anti-tank guided missile systems, and multiple rocket launchers.

The 2nd Battalion was holding defensive positions in Sector B; on the night of April 14–15, the personnel of the 2nd Battalion and adjacent units, who had been defending the right bank of the Kalmius River, withdrew to the Azovstal plant.

In late March and early April 2022, a new unit began forming in Zaporizhzhia to launch a breakthrough into the besieged city of Mariupol. Comrade “Namat” was appointed acting battalion commander. The group of newly arrived volunteers was extremely diverse. They included Azov veterans, fighters from various units of the armed forces and the National Guard, border guards and special forces personnel who had transferred from other units, men from purely civilian professions, and young men eager to enlist.

The defense of Velyka Novosilka by Azov units and allied brigades in 2022 was of immense strategic importance. The stabilization of the front along the Velyka Novosilka–Vremivka–Zolota Nyva line prevented Russian troops from flanking the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Donetsk Oblast. This line became a “thorn in the side” for the Russian Southern Group. It was here, thanks to the defenders’ resilience in 2022, that a bridgehead was established, from which the Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive in June 2023, leading to the liberation of a number of settlements (Neskuchne, Blahodatne, Makarivka, Storozheve).

Azov has been granted brigade status—the 12th Special Forces Brigade named after Dmytro Vyshnevetskyi.

In the spring and summer of 2023, the focus of the fighting shifted to the Zaporizhzhia sector (the Orikhiv axis). The Ukrainian command’s objective was to break through Russian defenses and cut off the land corridor to the temporarily occupied Crimea. The 12th “Azov” Brigade was tasked with operating in one of the most challenging sectors—in the area of the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Novopokrovka.

The company-tactical group of the 2nd Battalion carried out combat missions directly in the areas of these settlements. The unit’s main tasks were to occupy and fortify forward positions to ensure control of the area, contain the enemy, and create conditions for the advance of Ukrainian forces. Soldiers of the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion secured both their own positions and enemy positions from which the enemy had been driven out during combat operations, conducted surveillance, and held designated lines.

Despite difficult combat conditions and heavy minefields, the battalion’s units helped hold designated sections of the front and supported the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ subsequent operations in the Orikhiv sector.

Since August 2023, the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade has been carrying out combat missions in the Kreminna sector, in the area of the Serebryansky Forestry—one of the most challenging sections of the front at that time.

The battalion’s main tasks were to hold designated lines, repel enemy attacks and assaults, and prevent the enemy from advancing deeper into the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The battalion’s units repeatedly engaged in close combat, conducted assaults, and drove the enemy back from their positions.

Significant attention was paid to the construction and improvement of fortifications, which allowed for the effective holding of positions under constant enemy pressure. Over the course of the year, the battalion’s fighters repelled a large number of assaults, inflicted losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and ensured the stability of the defense on their section of the front.

The battalion’s personnel demonstrated composure, professionalism, and resilience while carrying out their missions in the challenging conditions of forested terrain and constant combat tension.

When the battalion was deployed to the front lines, the situation along the front was dire. However, thanks to the soldiers’ high morale, courage, and professionalism, they managed to stabilize the situation, regain control of part of New York, and break the siege of the Defense Forces, which had been surrounded by enemy forces.