Artem Amirakhov, a soldier of the 120th Separate Artillery Brigade (profile, album) (military unit 59361, stationed in Yurga) of the 41st Army of the Central Military District accidentally posted a geotagged photo, which points to a location 10 km west of Palmyra, Syria. This is exactly where for the last two weeks the troops of the Assad regime have been fighting ISIS groups for the control of the city. Amirakhov’s photographs show MSTA-B howitzers and a KAMAZ-63501 based artillery tractor, which are standard issue of the 120th Artillery Brigade of Russian Armed Forces. His other photos confirm the unit identification with Yurga area geotags and recognizable unit patches on his and other soldiers’ uniforms.
The photos taken near Palmyra were uploaded to the photo album on March 28, 2016. One of the photos is geotagged with the coordinates 34.51919200 38.14945400.
In the photo below, which was also uploaded on March 28, 2016, the desert landscape and olive trees usual to the geotagged area can be seen.
There has been other evidence confirming the presence of the 120th artillery brigade in Syria.
On November 17, 2015, in a video presentation by the Russian Ministry of Defense a map of the area near the Shayrat base could be seen. This map included marked positions of the 5th howitzer battery of the 120th Artillery Brigade, deployed in the area since November 6. The map also showed that as of 14:00 on November 6, four Mi-24 attack helicopters and one Mi-8 transport helicopter were deployed at Shayrat airfield.
On March 17, 2016, Putin gave 17 state awards for participation in the Syrian operation. Among the recipients was captain Andrey Podolskiy, deputy commander of a howitzer battalion of the 120th Artillery Brigade.
Other Russian artillery brigades, previously identified by InformNapalm volunteers as deployed to Syria:
- East Is a Delicate Matter: 29 Servicemen from 291st Artillery Brigade in Syria
- Russian Soldier from the 200th Brigade Disclosed His Unit’s Disposition in Syria
CC BY 4.0 – Original article by InformNapalm team, translated by Gek. Upon reuse of the material, an active link to the author and our project is desirable.
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8 Responses to “120th Artillery Brigade of Russian Army near Palmyra”
04/18/2016
Russian Marines at Palmyra - InformNapalm.org (English)[…] March 2016, during the assault on the Syrian Palmyra, InformNapalm team identified a howitzer unit of the 120th Separate Artillery Brigade (military base 59361, permanent location at […]
12/22/2016
Les cadeaux russes à l’EI, ou ce qui a été abandonné sur la base militaire à Palmyre (vidéo) - InformNapalm.org (Français)[…] -des artilleurs de la 120e Brigade d’Artillerie, […]
12/24/2016
Russian gifts for ISIL: what was left behind in the abandoned military base in Palmyra - InformNapalm.org (English)[…] in the Palmyra area Russian servicemen of the 61st Marine Brigade (Russian Northern Fleet), the 120th Separate Artillery Brigade, the 20th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade of the Russian Armed […]
01/02/2017
879 Assault Battalion Marines in Syria - InformNapalm.org (English)[…] Central Military District: 21st Motorized Rifle Brigade, 28th Motorized Rifle Brigade, 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade, 7th Tank Brigade and 120th Artillery Brigade […]
01/09/2017
Baltiska flottan stridstränas i Syrien - InformNapalm på svenska[…] Centrala militärdistriktet: 21:a motoriserade skyttebrigaden, 28:e motoriserade skyttebrigaden, 74:e motoriserade skyttebrigaden, 7:e stridsvagnsbrigaden och 120:e artilleribrigaden […]
03/03/2017
“Ukrainian mission” of 120th Artillery Brigade of Russian Army - InformNapalm.org (English)[…] around the borderline base camp of the Russian invading forces in Millerovo, Rostov Oblast. The second episode featuring the 120th SAB relates to Syria mission in March 2016, when its personnel was spotted near […]
06/19/2017
Russian marines in Palmyra. The second attempt - InformNapalm.org (English)[…] 2016, during the first attack on the captured by ISIS Syrian city of Palmyra, the InformNapalm team identified a howitzer unit of the 120th Separate Artillery Brigade (military unit 59361, home base in Yurga), […]
09/20/2017
Korrupta general Gurulev röjs av soldater från den ryska 136:e Brigaden[…] Centrala militärområdets 21:a Motoriserade skyttebrigad, 28:e Motoriserade skyttebrigad, 74:e Motoriserade skyttebrigad, 7:e Pansarbrigad, 120:e Artilleribrigad […]