The inscription "IMMITIS" on the badge of the brigade means "merciless".
History
The 71st Jaeger Brigade was created soon after the launch of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which escalated the
Russo-Ukrainian War on 24 February 2022.
The word "Jaeger" is German for "hunters", implying forest troops, and the units are neither light nor heavy.[4]
Raised as a unit of the Reserve Corps, in April 2022 units of the new brigade left the Reserve and took part in hostilities in the
Kharkiv Oblast under the Air Assault Forces. From June 2022, they also appeared in the
Donbas.[5][6]
Units of the 71st Brigade were seen in the initial stages of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region in September 2022. Between 5 and 8 September, its fighters crossed the
Donets River and led
an offensive on
Balakliia, coming from the direction of
Husarivka.[7] In October 2022, soldiers of the brigade were honoured by the commanding officer of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, Major-General Maksym Myrhorodsky, his message stating that at that time they were performing combat missions in the
Donetsk region.[8] In the same month, the Brigade was reported as taking part in defensive battles near
Bakhmut,[9] and according to the Austrian analyst Tom Cooper in a successful counterattack on the outskirts of that city in December.[10]
As of December 2022, the Ukrainian armed forces had three such
Jaeger brigades, each with around 2,000 fighters, the
61st,
68th, and 71st Jaeger Brigades.[4]
On 6 December 2022, by a decree of the President of Ukraine,
Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the 71st Jaeger Brigade was awarded the "For Bravery and Courage" award.[12]