Artillery Group is a linear unit of the Azov Brigade.
The artillery group was first stood up as an Artillery Division, following the expansion of the Azov Battalion into the Azov Regiment, upon its integration into the Ukrainian National Guard on November 11, 2014. It then began to receive equipment from the Ukrainian government, which consisted of D-30 artillery and other artillery assets.
The unit would later be defeated during the Siege of Mariupol in May 2022, after defending the city for 86 consecutive days. Much of its artillery equipment was destroyed or captured during the battle. After the release of several dozen fighters from the Azov Regiment in September 2022, the unit began to rebuild, much like the 1st Mechanized and 2nd Mechanized Battalions of the regiment.
At the beginning of the new year, in January 2023, the Azov Regiment was expanded into the Azov Brigade, meaning the unit would require a greater amount of artillery assets to cover the whole brigade. Since then, it has received other artillery assets, including American weaponry, which was received following the lifting of the weapons ban on the Azov Brigade on June 10, 2024.
Following the release of the Azov Regiment fighters in September 2022, Mariupol veterans returned to their positions. In May 2023, the Kontakt-12 Reconnaissance Group was created. Its command, Hrinka, was a veteran of the Battle of Mariupol, celebrating his nineteenth birthday encircled at the Azovstal Complex. He would later be killed during a mission in the Serebryansky forest in 2024.
In October 2025, the Kontakt-12 Reconnaissance unit of the Artillery Group would be expanded into an artillery reconnaissance battalion.
Insignia
The insignia follows brigade tradition with a pointed chevron. Its central features include a slanted cannon and lightning bolt combined, with oak leaves nestled around it. Below is an abbreviation of the unit’s designation as a brigade artillery group, and the “Idea of the Nation” symbol, synonymous with Ukrainian nationalism and the Azov Brigade. The top of the insignia bears the inscription “Azov”.
