Russia Expands Kaliningrad-Based 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade into a Division

Russia has expanded the 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, based in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region, between Poland and Lithuania, into a division.

The formation of the new division within the Baltic Fleet was officially announced on December 22, 2025.

Although the unit’s official designation has not been publicly confirmed, the media outlet Russkiy Zapad reported in early December that it will be named the 120th Guards Naval Infantry Division. Its full Russian title is “120th Guards Belostok Orders of Zhukov, Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Naval Infantry Division”, abbreviated as the 120th Guards Naval Infantry Division.

One of the division’s regiments will carry the number 336, previously held by the brigade. The history of this formation within the Baltic Fleet began in 1963, when the 336th Motor Rifle Regiment was reorganized into the 336th Regiment.

That motor rifle regiment had been part of the 120th Motor Rifle Division, and the reuse of the number “120” likely explains the Russian Ministry of Defense’s reference to the unit as a “newly formed division.”

The original 120th Motor Rifle Division, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, became part of the Belarusian Armed Forces and was reorganized in the early 2000s into the 120th Mechanized Brigade (Belarusian: 120-я Рагачоўская асобная механізаваная брыгада).

The 336th Regiment was reorganized into a brigade under the same number on November 20, 1979, and remained a brigade thereafter, with periodic changes to its organizational structure.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the unit has taken part in combat operations against Ukraine – initially in the Kherson region and later during the assault on Mariupol.

At present, elements of the formation are involved in the offensive toward the Dnipropetrovsk region as part of the Russian Armed Forces’ “Vostok” grouping.

Reorganization of Russia’s Marine Corps

This is not the first Russian Marine Corps brigade to be expanded into a division. Earlier, the Pacific Fleet’s 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade was reorganized into the 55th Guards Naval Infantry Division.

The 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade was formed in 2009 through the reorganization of the 55th Guards Naval Infantry Division, which had originally been established in 1968.

It is likely that Russia’s remaining Marine Corps brigades – the 40th, 61st, and 810th – will also be expanded from brigades into divisions.