Russia is trying to cover up the decline of a once elite unit that was rendered 'combat ineffective,' UK intel says

A Ukrainian serviceman drives an armoured vehicle towards frontline positions near Vuhledar, Ukraine, where the  155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet is fighting, on February 22, 2023. AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

• Russia is trying to fix the reputation of a once elite brigade hammered in Ukraine, the UK MOD said.
• The military is worried the brigade's reputation reflects how military leaders are seen, it said.
• Insider previously reported that the brigade's failures in Ukraine mirror Russia's struggles there.

Russia is trying to salvage the reputation of a once elite unit and obscure the fact that it has been rendered incapable of fighting, according to UK intelligence.

In an update published Monday, the UK Ministry of Defence said the once celebrated 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet had been rendered "combat ineffective" multiple times when fighting in Ukraine.

It said the Kremlin was doing its best to cover up its defeats, to prevent the 155th becoming a symbol of Russia's larger failures in the invasion.

—Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 3, 2023

The MOD update said Russian officials were "likely running a deliberate information operation to revive the reputation of a brigade which has become synonymous with recent Russian failures in Ukraine."

Insider recently profiled the 155th, reporting that it had been involved in many of the low points of Russia's invasion and had suffered huge casualties.

Experts told Insider that the brigade once had an elite reputation, but that this had been eroded by repeated defeats. Its best soldiers were killed or wounded and replaced with inexperienced fighters.

Russia's military overall has experienced the same issues.

The UK MOD said that Russia tried to show off the brigade in March, including though "some of the most extensive Russian helmet-cam combat footage yet released" and staging a visit by the Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov.

It also noted public announcements that the brigade was determined and in "high spirits," and said Russia shared images of the brigades getting modified tanks.

It said that Russia's "effort to revive the brigade's image likely reflects concern about the way in which its failures were being increasingly associated with Russian senior military leaders."

The MOD noted that the brigade was majorly suffering.

"In reality, the 155th has likely been reduced to combat ineffective status at least twice in the last six months, due to being committed to tactically flawed frontal assaults near Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast," the UK said.

The MOD said in February said last month that while the 155th is seen as elite, its abilities had "almost certainly been significantly degraded" over the course of the war.

The brigade has had such high losses that the military has had to replenish it with new troops as many as eight times, according to the Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War.