| 42nd Mechanized Brigade | |
|---|---|
| 42 окрема механізована бригада | |
 Shoulder Sleeve Insignia | |
| Active | January 25, 2023 – Today |
| Country | 
Ukraine |
| Branch | 
Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Role | Mechanized Infantry |
| Part of | Operational Command South |
| Engagements |
|
| Website | Official Facebook page |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt. Col. Serhiy Lisovenko |
The 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade ( Ukrainian: 42 окрема механізована бригада) is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. [1]
History
The brigade was formed on January 25, 2023, as part of the expansion of the Ukrainian Army in anticipation of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, primarily from personnel mobilized in western Ukraine and officers from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade [2]. The command was entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Bolechan, former commander of the 109th Battalion of the 10th Brigade. It was the second Ukrainian unit, after the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, to receive Stryker armored vehicles. [3] However, these were only equipped to one battalion, and the other two received the BMP-1LB, vehicles based on the MT-LB hull and equipped with a modern stabilized turret.
In September 20023 the brigade was deployed to the front for the first time, being sent together with the 44th Mechanized Brigade to the Kupiansk Raion to reinforce the Ukrainian defenses in the north. [4] Starting from October it was deployed in the Andriivka area near Bakhmut. [5]In the first months of 2024 they were part of the Ukrainian defense against the Russian winter offensive in the direction of Chasiv Yar.
2024 Kharkiv offensive
The brigade was transferred to the Kharkiv region, on 9 May, providing support to the 125th Territorial Defense Brigade in repelling a Russian attacks near the village of Pylna [6] reportedly its "Perun" drone unit destroyed 4 Russian BMPs along with personnel near Pylna, Hlyboke and Lukiantsi. [7] Forced to give up ground in the following days, with the arrival of elements of the 92nd Assault Brigade it managed to stop the advancement of the 18th Motor Rifle Division by taking positions in the village of Lyptsi. [8] The drone operators of the unit fly 20 kilometers deep into Belgorod Oblast to destroy enemy targets.
Structure
As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:
- 42nd Mechanized Brigade,
- Headquarters & Headquarters Company
- 1st Mechanized Battalion
- 2nd Mechanized Battalion
- 3rd Mechanized Battalion
-
424th Rifle Battalion (А4856) - Tank Battalion ( T-64)
- Artillery Group "Gods of War" (“Боги війни)
- Rocket Artillery Battery. ( BM-21) Commander Captn. Mykola Kozachenko
- Self-propelled Artillery Battery. Commander "Nazar".
- Anti-Aircraft Defense Battalion
- Reconnaissance Company
-
Unmanned Systems Battalion "
Perun" - Engineer Battalion
- Logistic Battalion
- Signal Company
- Maintenance Battalion
- Radar Company
- Medical Company
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Company
Insignia History
-
Original unit patch -
Old unit patch -
Officially approved variant, 2023
References
- ^ "From the heroic to the mundane: 12 hours of positional war near Bakhmut". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ "Ukrainian Army continues to expand". 4 May 2023.
- ^ MilitaryLand.net (27 May 2023). "The Ukrainian 42nd Mechanized Brigade seems to have received US donated Stryker APCs and MaxxPro MRAPs".
- ^ "Recap Deployment Map changes – Week 39". 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Recap Deployment Map changes – Week 42". 22 October 2023.
- ^ David Axe (10 May 2024). "Russia's Victory Day Offensive In Northern Ukraine Might Be An Elaborate Feint. Will Ukraine Fall For It?".
- ^ "Soldiers of the 42nd Brigade inflict heavy losses on the enemy near Starytsia". Militarnyi. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ David Axe (16 May 2024). "Russia's Victory Day Campaign Just Ran Into A Wall Of Ukrainian Mechanized Troops".