| Unit Name: | 23rd Public Order Protection Brigade |
| Country: |  Ukraine |
| Allegiance: | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Branch: | National Guard of Ukraine |
| Type: | Brigade |
| Role: | Law enforcement, protection of the Ukrainian territorial integrity |
| Command Structure: | National Guard of Ukraine |
| Garrison: | Zaporizhzhia, Melitopol, Berdyansk and Energodar |
| Notable Commanders: | Colonel Dmytro Oleksandrovich Apukhtin |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Former Insignia |
| Nickname: | Khortytsia Brigade |
| Battles: | Russo-Ukrainian war |
| Anniversaries: | 2 January[1] |
The 23rd Public Order Protection Brigade "Khortytsia" is a Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine tasked with protection of the public order and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. It was established on January 2, 1992, as the 8th NG Regiment on the basis of the 22nd Separate Special Motorized Militia Battalion. It has seen combat during the War in Donbass and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its units are headquartered in Zaporizhzhia, Melitopol, Berdyansk and Energodar.
It was established on January 2, 1992, on the basis of the 22nd Separate Special Motorized Militia Battalion of the Internal Troops of the Soviet Union, as the 8th regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine.
On 15 July 1992, on the Buyalyk-Berezivka route, a fight broke out in a train carriage when an inebriated man was clinging to the passengers starting a brawl. During the brawl, the man grabbed an F-1 grenade and threw it on the floor after pulling out its ring, an officer of the regiment (Volodymyr Fedorovych Ignatiev) covered it with his body, taking the impact on himself saving the other passengers but was killed in action.[2]
On 26 January 1995, the 8th regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine was subordinated to the Internal Troops of Ukraine, where it was renamed the 13th Separate Special Motorized Regiment and then the 23rd Separate Special Motorized Brigade in 1999. It became a part of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2014.
It took part in multiple engagements during the War in Donbass. It took part in the Battle of the Border during which on 10 August 2014, in the darkness of night, the separatists attacked the regiment's post in Amvrosiivka, the regiment's observer (Gutnik-Zaluzhnyi Ivan Viktorovych) at the lookout position saw a group of unknown people on a thermal imager and reported them to the command and received an order to observe. The separatists saw him and opened fire, he retaliated by using tracer munitions which revealed the positions of separatists forcing them to retreat, thus the plans of an ambush by separatists were foiled and 48 personnel of the regiment were saved[3] but the observer Gutnik-Zaluzhnyi Ivan Viktorovych, himself was severely wounded and died soon after.[4] [5] Also during the battle of the border, on 24 August 2014, a convoy of the regiment's personnel was ambushed by separatists near Novozvanivka killing two soldiers of the regiment (Borys Olegovich Gryaznov[6] and Dobrovolskyi Serhiy Valeriyovych[7]), furthermore 25 soldiers of the regiment were taken captive and a soldier from the 34th Kherson Regiment was also killed.
On 21 December 2017, a mini-soccer tournament was held at the Dynamo sports complex among the security forces of the Zaporizhzhia garrison, dedicated to the "Memory of Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Andriyovych Davydenko." The first place was won by the team of the brigade against FC "Chepard".[8]
On 21 August 2020, the brigade was awarded the honorary name "Khortytsia"[9] and on 23 August 2020, the brigade was presented with a battle flag and ribbons.[10]
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the brigade saw heavy action. It took part in the Siege of Mariupol.[11]