53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade

53rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (2023 onwards) 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (1967–2023) 268th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (1961–1967)
Russian: 53-я зенитная ракетная бригада
Brigade's shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1961–present
Country	Soviet Union (1961–1991)  Russia (1992–present)
Branch	Soviet Army (1961–1991) Russian Ground Forces (1992–present)
Type	Surface-to-air missile brigade
Part of	20th Guards Army
Garrison/HQ	Kursk MUN 32406
Equipment	SA-11 Buk
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Sergey Muchkayev

The 53rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade is a surface-to-air missile brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. Part of the 20th Guards Army, the brigade is based at Kursk.^[1]

Formed from an anti-aircraft regiment in 1967 in Armenia, the brigade was transferred to East Germany shortly after its formation and served as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany for the remainder of the Cold War. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany in 1992, the brigade was relocated to Kursk.

A joint investigation team of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine has concluded that the brigade provided the unit that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 which killed 298 people.^[2][3]

On 21 February 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin awarded the unit the honorary 'Guards' title for its service in the Invasion of Ukraine.^[4]