2nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
Identification
Military unit 73438 is consistently tied in open sources to the former 2nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the Luhansk proxy forces, based in Luhansk. Russian state media said on April 1, 2024 that the current 123rd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade is the successor to that 2nd brigade, so this record is best treated as the brigade’s legacy name rather than a separate unit. ([ria.ru](https://ria.ru/20240401/spetsoperatsiya-1937012767.html))
Higher HQ
The metadata path through the Luhansk 2nd Army Corps matches older reporting: as of January-April 2024, open-source battlefield reporting still placed the 123rd/former 2nd brigade in the 2nd Army Corps, with one source explicitly linking that corps to Russia’s 8th Combined Arms Army. By April-December 2025, ISW and Russian state media were instead placing the 123rd brigade under the 3rd Combined Arms Army, indicating a later reorganization or relabeling of the same force structure. ([defence.org.ua](https://defence.org.ua/dailybrief/2024-01-21/?utm_source=openai))
Luhansk site
Luhansk city is the only location point I could verify confidently for this record. Older force-structure reporting describes the brigade as based in Luhansk, but the reviewed open sources do not reliably confirm a specific barracks compound or exact HQ building within the city, so this should be handled as a city-level garrison/HQ entry. ([globalsecurity.org](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/novorossia-militia-2ak.htm))
Operational role
Reporting from 2024-2025 repeatedly placed the brigade west of Luhansk on the Siversk axis: near Berestove and Vyimka in 2024, and around Siversk itself in 2025. Russian state media also attributed drone strikes against Ukrainian fuel and communications nodes in that sector to 123rd brigade elements. This indicates the Luhansk-based formation is employed as a maneuver brigade feeding the Donbas front rather than only as a fixed rear-area headquarters. ([defence.org.ua](https://defence.org.ua/dailybrief/2024-01-21/?utm_source=openai))
Continuity
Russian state media identified Denis Ivanov as commander of the predecessor 2nd brigade; by December 2025 Reuters and RIA identified Colonel Denis Pirogov as commander of the 123rd brigade. Personnel reporting therefore supports continuity of the formation across the 2nd-to-123rd redesignation, while the exact current higher-echelon label remains time-sensitive. ([ria.ru](https://ria.ru/20240401/spetsoperatsiya-1937012767.html))