36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade

Early in the morning of February 27, 2014, the Brigade awoke to find their barracks surrounded by unmarked Russian speaking special forces. According to the brigade's colonel, S. I. Storozhenko, on March 21, 2014, personnel where given three options. Either remain loyal to their oaths and surrender their weapons and equipment and be allowed to return to unoccupied Ukraine, disband and return home, or renounce their oaths to Ukraine and swear a new oath to the Russian Federation. Out of 1200 servicemen, 199 left for unoccupied Ukraine, 300 quit, the rest swore allegiance to the Russian Federation.[2] 58.42% of the unit betrayed their country, higher than the 29.6% of all Ukrainian personal in Crimea.[1] The defecting personnel where temporally transferred to the Black Sea Fleet before the Brigade was reorganized as the new 126th Coastal Defence Brigade, a recreation of an old Soviet Brigade Ukraine inherited in 1991 and disbanded in 1996.[3][2][4] The 126th Coastal Defence Brigade uses the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade's old barracks in Perevalne as their headquarters.[5]

Elements loyal to Ukraine from the 1st Marine Battalion, 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade, and 501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion would be merged together to form the 36th Marine Brigade.[6][7] Former soldiers of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade would continue to be listed as members of the Brigade during the War in Donbas until at least 2020.[8][9]