As the unit noted, there are currently about 400 Marines from this battalion on the front line of the battlefield.
“But it wasn’t always like that. The 501st Battalion has a sad history of avoiding combat. In this sense, the Kursk campaign is an opportunity to atone for guilt,” writes Forbes.
The publication reminds that this battalion belonged to the Crimean crew. However, as the Russians invaded the peninsula and Ukrainian troops withdrew from the area, only 64 Marines from this battalion joined them. Hundreds of their fellow Marines voluntarily remained in Crimea, effectively siding with the Russian occupiers.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has reestablished the 501st Marine Battalion. During the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, soldiers from this battalion joined the garrison of Mariupol on the Black Sea coast.
“Russian soldiers laid siege to Mariupol, mercilessly starving and bombarding the city’s crew and civilians. The main crew, more than 2,000 people, held out for three months, eventually retreating to the Azovstal steel plant and finally surrendering in 2022. at the end of May, when food, ammunition and medicine ran out,” the publication says.
But even in this case, writes Forbes, the 501st Marines were not among the last to continue the defense of the city. They withdrew in early April, six weeks ahead of Azovstal’s defenders. As explained, after not coordinating actions with the neighboring forces, about 270 marines left their positions and weapons and fell into Russian captivity.
“We want to avoid casualties and bloodshed. I’m tired of seeing people die,” Senior Lieutenant Konstantin Bessmertny of the 501st Marine Battalion told Russian state media after the mass surrender.
The actions prompted Ukrainian authorities to launch an investigation into the illegal surrender of the Marines, focusing on Mr. Bessmertnyj and another senior officer. Over the past two years, about 20 Marines have returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges. However, about 250 more soldiers remain in Russia.
Now the 501st Marine Battalion, destroyed in Mariupol, has been re-established with new officers and soldiers. He entered the fight in 2023. – initially in the Kherson region, and this summer was redeployed to the Kharkiv region to defend Volchansk.
“The 501st Marine Battalion apparently moved 100 miles (160 km) between Volchansk and Kursk last week as the Ukrainian Invasion Corps extended its control beyond the town of Suja, 6 miles (10 km) from the Russian-Ukrainian border. With the arrival of the battalion, the invasion force now consists of soldiers from the Army, Air Force, Territorial Force and Marines,” the paper concludes.
“Union” inf.
2024-08-19 18:28:50