Key Takeaways

The 55th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, Military Unit 55115, was formed in 2015 and is stationed in Kyzyl. In 2022, the formation was part of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District.

During the offensive on Chernihiv Oblast, the brigade was commanded by Colonel Denis Barilo. In April 2026, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies notified him of suspicion in the case concerning the detention of Yagodne residents in a school basement.

This is not the only legal trace. In March 2024, the Chernihiv District Court in absentia found 15 servicemen of the 55th Brigade guilty of unlawfully detaining Yagodne residents and using civilians as human shields; the appeal upheld the verdict. Therefore, in the case of Military Unit 55115, it is no longer just about mutual accusations by the warring parties, but about a specific court decision regarding the formation's subordinates.

After this, the Russian state continued to award the brigade: in 2024, it was granted the Guards designation, and in November 2025, the authorities of Tuva announced the awarding of the Order of Kutuzov to the brigade.

In January 2026, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces announced a strike on a logistics warehouse of the 55th Brigade in Selydove. This indicates that the formation remained part of the active grouping almost four years after Yagodne.

The Brigade from Tuva

The 55th Separate Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade was created in 2015. Its permanent deployment point is Kyzyl. The formation initially relied significantly on residents of Tuva and was positioned by the Russian Ministry of Defense as a unit adapted for operations in difficult terrain.

The military unit number is 55115. In documents and publications from 2022, the brigade is referred to as a formation of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District. This specific number allows for filtering out similarly named units and connecting commanders, casualties, judicial proceedings, and award documents.

Yagodne: From Resident Testimonies to Verdict

In March 2022, Russian forces occupied the village of Yagodne, Chernihiv Oblast. The investigation and court established that hundreds of residents were herded into the cramped basement of the local school, while Russian servicemen used the building as a position. People were held without proper ventilation, sanitation, or medical care.

In the court proceedings against servicemen of the 55th Brigade, dozens of victims gave testimony. On March 11, 2024, the Chernihiv District Court in absentia sentenced 15 servicemen of the formation to 12 years of imprisonment each. In May 2024, the appellate court upheld the decision.

For editorial presentation, this is a key point. The phrasing "servicemen of the brigade are accused" is insufficient here: there is a court verdict against 15 specific subordinates. However, the criminal responsibility of these servicemen cannot be automatically transferred to any other soldier of Military Unit 55115.

Denis Barilo: Commander and Separate Case of 2026

During the operation in Chernihiv Oblast, the brigade was commanded by Denis Alexandrovich Barilo, then a Colonel. In April 2026, the SBU and the Chernihiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office notified Barilo of suspicion under the article concerning violations of the laws and customs of war. The Ukrainian side bases its accusation, in part, on the concept of command responsibility: a commander is obliged to prevent violations of international humanitarian law by subordinates and to react to them.

The legal boundary must be stated directly: Barilo is a suspect in Ukrainian proceedings, not a convicted person in this case. The 2024 verdict was issued against his 15 former subordinates. As of August 2026, there is no basis in open sources to write that Barilo has already been found guilty by a court in his case.

According to Russian sources, by 2024, Barilo had moved to another command position and received the rank of Major General. This requires separate primary verification against Russian orders and official reports but is important as a possible career trajectory after Yagodne.

State Award After Judicial Proceedings

On January 3, 2024, the 55th Brigade received the honorary designation "Guards." Then, on November 1, 2025, the official portal of the Republic of Tuva reported that the formation was awarded the Order of Kutuzov.

The fact of an award itself is not proof of participation in a specific operation. But for an investigation, it is important as part of the institutional reaction of the Russian state: a unit whose servicemen had already received in absentia verdicts for the Yagodne episode continued to receive high collective awards.

This is a contrast that should be highlighted at the beginning of the publication: the judicial track in Ukraine is developing in parallel with the Russian award track.

Avdiivka and Further Deployment

In February 2024, Russian official reports attributed the 55th Brigade to the formations that participated in the capture of Avdiivka. This means that after the 2022 campaign and the identified episodes in Chernihiv Oblast, the unit was not disbanded or withdrawn from combat use but continued to be employed in one of the most intense sectors.

On January 6, 2026, the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine stated that they struck a logistics warehouse of the 55th Brigade in Selydove, Donetsk Oblast, with drones. There is no independent assessment of the damage in the publication, so the correct phrasing is "the Ukrainian side stated a strike," not "the warehouse was destroyed."

Casualties and Regional Cost

Named casualties of the 55th Brigade are recorded by regional obituaries and memorial resources. In open sources, for example, the death of Major Dmitry Komarov, who served as the head of the missile and artillery armament service of Military Unit 55115 and died in June 2022, has been confirmed.

For Tuva, this topic is particularly important due to the high proportion of republic residents in the initial manning of the formation. However, without a complete named array, it is impossible to derive a percentage of casualties or claim that the 55th Brigade specifically accounted for a certain proportion of all those killed from the region. Such figures should be calculated separately based on verified full names.

What Has Been Proven

Judicially established in Ukraine: 15 servicemen of the 55th Brigade were found guilty in the episode of unlawful detention of civilians in Yagodne; the verdict passed appeal.

Officially stated by the Ukrainian investigation: Denis Barilo was notified of suspicion in the Yagodne case based on command responsibility. This is not yet a verdict.

Officially confirmed by the Russian side: the existence of Military Unit 55115 in Kyzyl; the granting of the Guards designation; the awarding of the Order of Kutuzov.

Confirmed by military reports from both sides: the brigade's continued participation in the war, including the Avdiivka sector and the presence of its logistics in Donetsk Oblast in 2026.

Conclusion: Verdicts for Subordinates and Awards for the Formation

The history of Military Unit 55115 is a rare case where three independent bodies of information converge around a single military unit: Ukrainian criminal proceedings, a court verdict against specific servicemen, and official Russian awards to the formation. This allows moving away from rhetoric and building the material on documents.

A legally precise conclusion separates levels of responsibility. Fifteen servicemen received in absentia verdicts; Denis Barilo remains a suspect in separate proceedings; the guilt of every other person who served in Military Unit 55115 does not automatically follow from this. The institutional conclusion is different: after Yagodne, the formation was retained, deployed near Avdiivka, and awarded the Order of Kutuzov.