Forged by War, Bound by Loyalty: The Stories of Ukrainian Marines

Soldiers of the legendary 36th Separate Marine Brigade shared memories of their combat journey and the brothers-in-arms who stood beside them

Every year on May 23, Ukraine marks Marine Corps Day. As a distinct branch of the Armed Forces, Ukraine’s Marine Corps began to take shape after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. This new fighting force was built almost from scratch by those who remained loyal to Ukraine. That is why the branch’s motto — “Faithful Forever” — though rooted in the traditional slogan used by marines around the world, carries a deeply personal meaning for Ukrainian marines.

Marines are versatile warriors: they can fight along coastlines and deep inland, storm enemy positions, defend bridgeheads, wage urban combat, and carry out a wide range of other missions. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s Marine Corps has defended Mariupol, helped liberate Kherson region, held the line in Krynky, and fought on the Kursk axis.

Ahead of their professional holiday, fighters of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi shared stories of brotherhood, resilience, and courage.

FROM CRIMEA TO THE STEPPES OF DONETSK REGION

“The Marine Corps is one big family. It is a battle-hardened branch of the military that was built against all odds — gathering weapons piece by piece and creating an environment where true leaders and defenders of their country are forged,” said Hero of Ukraine Serhii Volynskyi, known by the call sign “Volyna,” who served as acting commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade from April 13 to May 20, 2022.

Volynskyi was among those who remained faithful to their oath during the occupation of Crimea. At the time, he commanded a platoon of the 501st Marine Battalion in Kerch — the city through which Russian forces were funneling troops and equipment to seize the peninsula. Together with two sergeants and seven sailors, “Volyna” barricaded himself inside a briefing room at the base.

Volynskyi in Mariupol

“We locked ourselves in and began demanding that the unit commander expel the Russian general and stop the inventorying of our depots, weapons, and equipment,” the serviceman recalls. “After that, we hid in the city until an evacuation from the peninsula was arranged for us.”

In 2014, most soldiers of the 501st Battalion stayed in Crimea alongside their traitorous commander, Oleksandr Saienko. Those who chose to leave the peninsula had virtually nothing — no depots, no equipment, not even places to sleep.

“Everything the Marine Corps has today is the result of the extraordinary efforts of officers, commanders, sergeants, and sailors who did everything in their power to preserve our branch of service,” Volynskyi emphasizes. He adds that without military friendship and brotherhood, the Marines simply would not have survived.

“Volyna” fought his first battle on December 6, 2014, on the Hnutove axis. He recalls coming under mortar fire while maneuvering around enemy positions. The enemy mortar crew was later destroyed by tank fire.

From 2016 onward, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade spent long stretches in Mariupol — often eight to ten months at a time without rotation. It was there that the brigade also faced the opening days of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“The first days of the full-scale invasion remain vastly underappreciated in the media. Units of our brigade were always on the front line — the first to absorb every wave of the enemy assault,” “Volyna” recalls.

Many were killed during the initial attacks, during the withdrawal to the Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, and later in the fighting at the plant itself. The battles were brutal.

“Perhaps those were the most terrifying battles I have witnessed in my life,” Volynskyi says.

Yet even while holding out at the plant, the marines still believed they could dig in, repel the Russian onslaught, and keep the city under Ukrainian control. Despite everything, the fighters’ morale remained exceptionally high.

 Volynskyi and Sikoza

Hero of Ukraine Viktor Sikoza, who commanded the 36th Separate Marine Brigade from 2022 to 2024, was also among the servicemen who refused to side with the occupiers in Crimea. He led his company out to Mykolaiv region and served in the 36th Marine Brigade from the very beginning of its formation.

“There are countless stories about my brigade — I could tell one about every single fighter,” Sikoza says.

He and Volynskyi have known each other since 2014. That summer, when part of the marines was deployed near the administrative border with Transnistria, Sikoza helped “Volyna” repair his vehicle.

Sikoza also recalls a marine with the call sign “Ryabchyk” (“Growse”) who operated an anti-aircraft gun system. Together with one of his brothers-in-arms, “Ryabchyk” fired nearly 15,000 rounds at enemy forces on the Mariupol axis in just one week.

“We simply couldn’t stop to reload. At some point, we even needed help from adjacent units just to reload the ammunition,” one of the marines recalls. “How could we stop when the infantry depended on our fire support?”

When Sikoza took command of the brigade in 2022, he faced the difficult task of rebuilding it after the defense of Mariupol. He succeeded. By autumn, the brigade had joined the liberation of Kherson region, and by December 2022 it had regrouped at full strength near Avdiivka.

“Yankee” with a fellow marine

The fighters known by the call signs “Yankee” and “Teacher” joined the Marines after the start of the full-scale invasion. Before the war, “Yankee” had been living in the United States with his family, but after February 24 he returned to Ukraine to defend his country’s independence.

“It feels like Yankee has eliminated more enemy troops than some entire brigades,” his brothers-in-arms joke.

 “Teacher”

However, “Yankee” prefers to speak not about himself, but about a fellow marine with the call sign “Anubis.” “Anubis” was a medic in the 2nd Battalion who worked at a stabilization point, yet constantly asked to be sent to combat positions.

“Every time a rotation came around, Anubis refused to be replaced,” the fighter recalls. “He justified it by saying there was no other medic available to provide medical assistance at the positions.”

“Anubis” completed more than four rotations at the front positions and, tragically, was killed there.

“Teacher” became a marine in 2023. Before that, he had worked as an elementary school teacher. Among his wartime experiences, he singles out a special operation to evacuate civilians from Kostiantynivka. Information about four adults and four children in need of evacuation came through adjacent units, and the marines immediately began planning the mission.

“Teacher” explained that they had to plan not only the primary route, but also backup ones, since the Russians tightly controlled both the approaches to Kostiantynivka and the city itself. In addition, the vehicle had to be left as close as possible to the civilians: there were elderly people in the group, and they were bringing pets and whatever belongings they could carry out with them. The evacuation was successful.

“Children should not have to live this kind of life. They should not be living in basements, hiding from shelling,” “Teacher” emphasizes.

MARINES NEVER ABANDON THEIR OWN

The brotherhood of the marines also revealed itself during captivity in Russian prisons.

“No matter how hard it became, the marines remained one large and unbreakable family. We helped each other in everything,” says former prisoner of war Andrii Petruk. He joined the 36th Brigade in 2016 and says he has never regretted that decision for a single moment.

 Andrii Petruk

Andrii was taken prisoner in Mariupol. He recalls that the captives were held in a small, cramped room. His leg had been injured, and because he had no crutches, his brothers-in-arms helped him move around.

He also remembers growing especially close to fellow captured marine Vladyslav Chuhuienko.

“At one point, we argued so badly that he stopped talking to me for a long time,” Andrii recalls. “But he still kept helping me every day. Because even when we’re angry with each other, we never abandon our own.”

Oleksandr Didur

Marine Oleksandr Didur was severely wounded in Mariupol. The occupiers treated him at a hospital in Donetsk before transferring him to Olenivka. Didur notes that the Russian special services knew everything about him: in 2011–2012, he had completed his compulsory military service aboard Ukraine’s only submarine.

In Olenivka, he was placed in a separate room on the first floor of the barracks because he was bedridden and in critical condition.

“There were guys there from the 1st Separate Feodosia Battalion. They were forced to work in the kitchen preparing food supplies,” Didur recalls.

On the very first day, the prisoners learned that Oleksandr was also a marine. They helped him and shared tobacco collected from cigarette butts. Surprised by their attitude, the fighter asked why they cared for him so much when they had never met before.

“There are no strangers among us,” the marines told him. “We are all one family — faithful forever. Even if we don’t know you, you are one of us.”

Oleksandr made a promise to himself: if he survived captivity, he would not stop fighting until the last defender of Mariupol returned home.

“In every interview and during every trip abroad, I will continue reminding people that the war is still ongoing and that the men who remain in captivity must be exchanged as soon as possible. Because I know how hard it is,” he emphasizes.

After completing rehabilitation, Oleksandr Didur now helps the families of prisoners of war as well as those who have already returned home through exchanges.

Today, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade continues to defend Donetsk region — particularly on the Kostiantynivka axis — while awaiting the return of their brothers-in-arms from Russian captivity. During the prisoner exchange on May 15, more than 50 marines returned home.

Glory to the Marine Corps!

Viktoriia Nakonechna, Kyiv

Photos courtesy of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade’s press service; via personal archives, and Serhii Volynskyi’s Facebook page