The 406th Artillery Brigade "Ensign General " is a brigade of the Ukrainian Marine Corps. It was established in 1976 as a part of the Soviet Armed Forces and was transferred to Ukraine following its independence. It was originally a part of the Ukrainian Navy and became a part of the Marine Corps after its formation. It is currently based at Mykolaiv.
In April 1976, it was established as the 301st Artillery Brigade in Zaporizhzhia. In 1983, it was transferred to Simferopol as a part of 32nd Army Corps and was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet in 1983. In March 1993 after the independence of Ukraine, it was transferred to the 32nd Army Corps of the Odessa Military District, becoming 406th Artillery Regiment in 2001 and then 406th Separate Brigade Artillery Group in 2003 and later 406th Separate Coastal Artillery Group in 2006, eventually becoming 406th Separate Simferopol Coastal Artillery Group in 2011.
On February 28, 2014, during the Russian Invasion of Crimea the Russian troops encircled the brigade. Half of the officers defected to Russia and 73 servicemen arrived back in Zaporizhzhia on 9 April. The commander of the unit, Dmytro Kozachenko himself also defected to Russia.
On April 15, 2015, it was transferred to Mykolaiv.
32nd Rocket Artillery Regiment split from the brigade in 2016.
On August 24, 2016, the brigade received a combat flag.
On August 22, 2018, the brigade was awarded the honorary title of "Corporal General Oleksiy Almazov"
On July 10, 2019, the brigade took part in combat action in Granitny, separatists launched anti-tank missiles upon the brigade's positions killing a soldier of the brigade.
During the Russo-Ukrainian war, the brigade participated in the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive for which it received commendation from Volodymyr Zelensky. The brigade also participated in the Battle of Davydiv Brid carrying out precise strikes against Russian positions.
On 22 January 2026, in Moscow, the Second Western District Military Court formally acknowledged that the Russian cruiser Moskva was sunk by a Ukrainian missile, and accused Andrii Shubin, then commander of 406th Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, of giving the orders that led to the sinking of the Moskva. Updated casualties were listed as 20 crew members killed, 24 injured and eight missing. Shubin was also accused of causing minor damage to the frigate Admiral Essen in April 2022. The âÂÂcourt demanded 2.2 billion rubles (approximately $28.4 million) in damagesâ for the Admiral Essen from Shubin.
The structure of the brigade is as follows.