Original Material
"I'd rather have been taken prisoner or not come back." The elite 155th brigade of naval infantry was destroyed near Vuhledar
While storming Vuhledar, only 8 men survived in the 3rd company of the 155th brigade of naval infantry. The brigade in 80-90 percent consisted of recent conscripts. Most of the marines were either killed or taken prisoner, one member of the brigade told the "7x7" on February 13.
One of the marines of the 155th brigade of naval infantry has contacted “7x7.” He told about the battle near Vuhledar and said that after multiple attacks on the Ukrainian positions, the 3rd company of the brigade was left with eight men only. Many were taken prisoner.
“Those who had survived had been declared deserters. I would rather have been taken prisoner and not come back. The treatment was as bad as possible. We have already lost 500 people, maybe more. The brigade commander said we would only go home as number 200 (dead), or 300 (wounded).”
According to the marine, they launched an attack near Vuhledar on January 23. He claims that 80-90 percent of his brigade consisted of recently mobilized men. He also says that people were dying all the time, so "new ones were constantly being brought in."
Because of the war situation, it is difficult to verify this information quickly. The Russian Defense Ministry confirms the battle near Vuhledar. On February 9, they reported about successful operations against Ukrainian troops near the city.
On the same day, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry informed about shelling in this area. On February 13, Meduza, citing Politico and Oleksiy Dmitrashkovskiy, head of the united press center of the Tavriskiy District of Ukrainian defense forces, informed about the possible destruction of almost the entire elite 155th brigade of naval infantry near Vuhledar.
Information about prisoners is confirmed by the "Don't wait for me from Ukraine" telegram channel that posts news about killed or captured Russians. According to a “7x7” correspondent's calculations, the names of 13 captured marines of the 155th Brigade have been known since February 3.
In November 2022, the 155th brigade marines complained to Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of Primorsky Krai, about the heavy losses they had suffered near the settlement of Pavlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. However, the Defense Ministry denied the fact of "meaningless losses" and called the commanders' actions "competent." Oleg Kozhemyako said he trusted the commanders and posted a video of marines promising to "minimize" losses.
Later, the 155th brigade was sent back to Pavlovka. According to the person who contacted "7x7", the marines had been “severely reprimanded” by the commanders who were angry that the information about losses had become public. Presumably, about 115 were killed during the attacks, with 450-500 of the total losses in the brigade.