Noman Çelebicihan Battalion
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48th Separate Assault Battalion named after " Noman Chelebijihan", also known as the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion, is a battalion of the
Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...
.


History

The 48th Assault Battalion, formally part of the 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade, has a storied history rooted in resistance against Russian aggression. Initially formed in 2016 by Crimean Tatar volunteers opposing
Russia's annexation of Crimea Annexation of Crimea may refer to: * Annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire (1783) *Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, a ...
, the unit was short-lived and disbanded later that same year. However, many of its former soldiers returned to military service following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The battalion was reconstituted from elements of the 251st Territorial Defense Battalion and named after Noman Çelebicihan, a revered Crimean Tatar political figure. While many of the battalion’s officers and enlisted personnel are
Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...
, it is not an ethnically homogeneous unit; any Ukrainian citizen can join. Most recruits hail from southern Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea, with roots tracing back to participants in the 2015 activist-led blockade of Crimea, which halted Ukrainian cargo shipments to the peninsula. When reformed, the battalion aimed for a strength of approximately 560 members. In its early days in 2016, the battalion reportedly received support from Turkish volunteers shortly after its founding. During this period, it assisted the
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine ( SBGSU; , ; ) is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an independent law enforcement agency, organized by the Constitution of Ukraine as a military formation, the head of which is subordinated to the Pres ...
along the border with Crimea. By the end of 2016, however, the battalion had largely dissolved, with many of its volunteers joining other units or enlisting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The battalion was re-established on February 24, 2022, in response to Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine, as reported by the Crimean News Agency (Qırım Haber Ajansı). In June 2022, the
Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation () is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in Russian administrative law, civil law, criminal law and commercial law cases. It also supervises the work of lower courts ...
controversially designated the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion as a terrorist organization—an accusation widely seen as politically motivated. At the start of December, it successfully expelled Russian forces from the village of Novyi Komar, thwarting their attempts to encircle the nearby town of Velyka Novosilka. Earlier in the year, on January 8, the battalion had been deployed to Pokrovsk. Within weeks, tensions arose when servicemen released an open appeal to
Oleksandr Syrskyi Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi (; born 26 July 1965) is a Ukrainian military officer. Holding the rank of four-star general, he has served as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since . Previously, he was the commander o ...
, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. They expressed concerns over the sudden replacement of their commander and the lack of adequate intelligence following their redeployment.


Structure

As of 2025 the regiments's structure is as follows: 48th Separate Assault Battalion: * Regiment's Headquarters * 1st Assault Company * 2nd Assault Company * 3rd Assault Company * Shkval Company (Penal company consisting of convicts mobilized for military service)


References

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces 2016 establishments in Ukraine Organizations designated as terrorist by Russia Military units and formations established in 2016 Military units and formations disestablished in 2016