90th Guards Tank Division (2016–present)

90th Guards Tank Vitebsk-Novgorod Twice Red Banner Division (Russian: 90-я гвардейская танковая Витебско-Новгородская дважды Краснознамённая дивизия; Military Unit Number 86274) is a Russian armoured division. The division was formed by December 2016 in the Central Military District.[6]

90th Guards Tank Division
90-я гвардейская танковая дивизия
Emblem of the division
Active2016–present[1]
Country Russia
Branch Russian Ground Forces
TypeArmoured
Size10,000 soldiers,
300 T-72 tanks[2]
Part ofCentral Military District
Garrison/HQChebarkul
EquipmentT-72A/B/BA/B3, BMP-2, BTR-82A, Grad MLRS, TOS-1,[3][4] 2S12, 2S3.[5]
Engagements
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner (2)
HonorificsVitebsk
Novgorod
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin

History

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A BMP-2 and a T-72BA of the 90th Guards Armored Division in 2017.

Establishment

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The 90th Guards Tank Division was reformed by December 2016 in the Central Military District, carrying on the lineage of the 90th Guards Rifle Division.[7] The division inherited the awards and history of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division, the former 90th Guards Rifle Division. The division was formed in accordance with an order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces and decree of the Russian Defence Minister dated 13 September 2016. The division is based in the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk Oblasts.[8] The division was formed form the 7th Separate Guards Tank Brigade, whose traditions were continued by the 239th Guards Tank Regiment, and the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, perpetuated by the 228th Motor Rifle Regiment. To continue the heritage of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, the tank battalion of the 228th Motor Rifle Regiment was designated as the Ural Tank Battalion.[9][10]

On 19 August 2017, the 90th anniversary of the division and the 76th anniversary of the 239th Guards Tank Regiment were solemnly celebrated. A reconstruction of the seizure of Vitebsk (in Belarus) was organized, in which the T-34/85 tank was involved. Demonstration performances of the servicemen of the reconnaissance battalion took place. The company of the Guard of Honor of the Central Military District demonstrated combat bearing and possession of weapons. The division's amateur art ensemble performed.

On June 30, 2018, an ukaz of President Vladimir Putin officially conferred the honorifics Guards Vitebsk-Novgorod upon the division, while the 6th Tank Regiment became the 6th Guards Lvov Tank Regiment and the 400th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment received the honorific Transylvania.[11]

On February 24, 2022, the division participated in the 2022 Kyiv offensive during the initial stage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the north-east of Kyiv.[12] The 90th Guards Tank Division had two battalion tactical groups involved in the three-week Battle of Brovary, where the division suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment.[13] The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported on 10 March 2022 that the commander of the 6th Guards Lvov Tank Regiment, Colonel Andrey Zakharov, was killed in the battle.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] By late March, the division, along with other Russian units, began a hasty retreat out of Kyiv Oblast. Afterwards, the division redeployed to Eastern Ukraine, receiving BMPT Terminator tank support combat vehicles to join the Russian Airborne Forces fighting in Lysychansk.[21]

On Friday 9th December 2022, the British government sanctioned the commander of the division (Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin) along with 30 other individuals. The sanctions, co-ordinated with international allies, were taken to mark International Anti-Corruption Day on Friday and Human Rights Day on Saturday.[citation needed]

Composition and equipment in 2024

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A T-34 tank on a plinth at the entrance to the division's base in Chebarkul, 2016
Composition
Equipment

Equipment in 2018: T-72A/B/BA/B3, BMP-2, BTR-82A, Grad MLRS, TOS-1,[3][4] 2S12, 2S3.[29]

Commanders

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  • Colonel/Major General (Guards) Denis Igorevich Lyamin (2016–2017)[30]
  • Major General (Guards) Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Gurov (2017–2019)
  • Major General (Guards) Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov (2019–2020)
  • Colonel (Guards) Ivan Mikhailovich Shkanov (Septembre 2020 – July 2021)
  • Colonel (Guards) Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin (since July 2021)
  • ?

Notes

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  1. ^ "Более 5 000 военных с семьями едут на Южный Урал". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  2. ^ Pity The Russians Who Get Assigned To The Ill-Fated 90th Tank Division In Ukraine
  3. ^ a b "Более 1,5 тыс. военных применили новые формы ведения боя в ходе учений на Урале". TASS (in Russian). 2017-04-21. Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  4. ^ a b "На Урале около 10 тыс. военнослужащих ЦВО приступили к занятиям на полигонах". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Полупрямые "карусели" Чебаркуля". Red Star (in Russian). 2016-03-29. Archived from the original on 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  6. ^ "Танковая дивизия на Урале будет сформирована до 1 декабря этого года" [Tank division in the Urals will be formed by 1 December this year]. TASS (in Russian). 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Танковая дивизия на Урале будет сформирована до 1 декабря этого года" [Formation of tank division in Urals to be completed by 1 December this year]. TASS (in Russian). 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  8. ^ "90th Vitebskaya-Novgorodskaya tank division of the Red Banner of the Central MD started combat training". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. 2016-12-01. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Чебаркульский гарнизон - историческое место дислокации воинских частей". PUTI-shestvuy. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  10. ^ "Уральский танковый батальон сформируют к 2017 году". Уралинформбюро (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  11. ^ "In Provocative Move, Putin Names Regiments After Ukrainian Cities, Warsaw, Berlin". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  12. ^ "Equipment identification of possible elements of 6th Guards Tank Regiment (в/ч 93992), 90th GTD highlighted from the earlier footage near Brovary". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  13. ^ "Украинские военные разбили танковый полк российских войск и ликвидировали командира Захарова в Броварском районе - ГУР МО". Интерфакс-Украина (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  14. ^ "Ukrainian military defeat tank regiment of Russian troops, eliminate commander Zakharov in Brovarsky district - Defense Intelligence". Interfax Kyiv. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  15. ^ Kaonga, Gerrard (2022-03-10). "Russian commander allegedly killed as tank convoy ambushed in drone footage". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  16. ^ report, Ground (2022-03-10). "Who was Russian Colonel Andrei Zakharov Killed in Ukraine?". Ground Report. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  17. ^ "Colonel Andrey Zakharov, the commander of Russia's 6th Tank Regiment (90th Tank Division) was killed". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  18. ^ "Russia's Commander of tank regiment was killed near Brovary". Militarnyi (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  19. ^ "According to the Ukrainian MoD's Chief Directorate of Intelligence, the commander of Russia's 6th Tank Regiment (90th Tank Division) Colonel Andrey Zakharov was killed during yesterday's fighting in Brovary". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  20. ^ "В Броварском районе ликвидирован полковник Захаров - командир полка оккупанта, - разведка. ВИДЕО". Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  21. ^ Axe, David. "Pity The Russians Who Get Assigned To The Ill-Fated 90th Tank Division In Ukraine". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  22. ^ "Центральный военный округ". Milkavkaz (in Russian). 22 Mar 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  23. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 30.06.2018 № 382 'О присвоении 6 танковому полку почетного наименования'". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Archived from the original on 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  24. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 2024-08-19. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  25. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 30.06.2018 № 383 'О присвоении 400 самоходному артиллерийскому полку почетного наименования'". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Archived from the original on 2021-01-06. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  26. ^ https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-12-2024
  27. ^ "232nd Rocket Artillery Brigade awarded honorary Guards title". President of Russia. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  28. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  29. ^ "Полупрямые "карусели" Чебаркуля". Red Star (in Russian). 2016-03-29. Archived from the original on 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  30. ^ Воссозданная 90-я танковая дивизия ЦВО приступила к боевой учебе (in Russian) Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine