The 155th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade was created on December 1, 2009, by reorganizing the
55th Naval Infantry Division, which was created in 1968.
Involvement in Syria During the
Russian intervention in Syria, the 155th brigade provided support and cover to the PKS aviation group as part of the Permanent Operational Unit of the
Russian Navy.
Russo-Ukrainian War Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the brigade took part in the
Russo-Ukrainian War. On March 13, in a written post on
Facebook, Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbalyuk reported that units of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade had suffered losses consisting of "about 600 servicemen killed and as many wounded" in the
Chernihiv region. On March 19, the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that separate units of the 155th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade and the
40th Naval Infantry Brigade (
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) were transferred to the territory of
Belarus to replace the losses of the
Eastern Military District. On March 28,
President Putin assigned the brigade the rank of guards, at the same time as the
126th Coastal Defense Brigade. In early November 2022, there were reports of heavy losses in the brigade in battles in the Pavlivka area near
Vuhledar in the
Donetsk region. On November 3, marines of the 155th brigade posted a letter to the
Telegram channel of Russian governor
Oleg Kozhemyako, describing how they were "thrown into an incomprehensible offensive by
General Muradov" and disclose that "about 300 people were killed, wounded, or went missing in 4 days" as a result of the offensive. Additionally, the marines asked for an independent investigation into the matter, not associated with the
Ministry of Defense. Reportedly, 63 marines were killed and another 240 casualties suffered during the assault, with half of the 155th and
40th Marine Brigade's equipment being lost, including "scores of scores of
T-80 tanks and BMP and BTR fighting vehicles". By late November 2022, the 155th Brigade was reportedly losing a hundred people a day during the assault on Pavlivka. In early February 2023, the 155th brigade again suffered heavy losses during the
offensive on Vuhledar. Video recordings of one combat encounter show nearly 30 Russian combat vehicles being destroyed, including 13 tanks and 12
BMPs. According to the
Institute for the Study of War, the footage shows Russian forces engaging in "highly dysfunctional"
combat tactics, which is likely an indication that the 155th brigade is made up of poorly trained,
freshly mobilized soldiers. On March 24, 2023, the ISW reported that the brigade had been destroyed and reconstituted eight times so far, including at Vuhledar, where the Ukrainians claimed the entire brigade of 5,000 troops was destroyed. On February 27, 2024, a HIMARS strike killed 19 Russian soldiers from the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade including a colonel and 2 other ranking officers. The unit commander was also wounded. On October 18, 2024, the Ukrainian
95th Air Assault Brigade killed 30 personnel and destroyed three APCs from the 155th Brigade in an engagement in
Kursk Oblast. On January 23, 2025, the brigade was awarded the
Order of Suvorov. On February 2, 2025, the leader of the "Tigir" Battalion Sergey Yefremov was killed by Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast. On February 21, 2025, the brigade received the honorary designation "Kursk". On May 30, 2025, a source with Ukraine's military intelligence agency claimed responsibility for two explosions near
Desantnaya Bay in
Vladivostok. Targeting the command post and barracks of the 47th Assault Battalion of the 155th Guards Marine Brigade. The Russian Anti-Terrorist Commission of Primorsky Krai claimed the explosion was caused by “propane-butane cylinders” igniting. On July 3, 2025, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
Mikhail Gudkov, former commander of the 155th who was promoted in March, was killed by a missile strike in the Kursk region. On July 6, the brigade was named after him. In September 2025, Ukraine's military intelligence claimed it had carried out explosions in Vladivostok, targeting members of the 155th brigade accused of war crimes stationed in the village of Shchitovaya. == War crimes ==