95th Air Assault Brigade (Ukraine)

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95th Air Assault Brigade
Ukrainian: 95 окрема десантно-штурмова бригада
95ОДШБр.png
New sleeve patch of the Brigade
Active1994/95–present
Country Ukraine
BranchUkrainian Air Assault Forces
Garrison/HQA0281 А1910 Zhytomyr Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
Motto(s)Strength, Courage, Honor
Anniversaries5 October 1994
EngagementsKFOR
UNAMSIL
Iraq Campaign
War in Donbas[1]
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Oleh Hut

The 95th Air Assault Brigade is a unit of Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, Ukraine’s rapid reaction force.[2] The brigade is located in Zhytomyr.[3] It is considered one of the most prestigious and capable units in the Ukrainian military.[4][5][6] The brigade is one of the Ukrainian Partnership for Peace units.[7] The brigade received a lot of publicity for its raid behind the separatist lines allegedly inflicting heavy losses on separatist and Russian forces during the war in Donbas.[8]

History[]

The 95th Training Center of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces was created in the early 1990s in Zhytomyr (Korbutovka base) from the 242nd Training Tank Regiment.[3] The 242nd Tank Training Regiment had been part of the 117th Guards Tank Training Division.[9] A second base, Bohunia, was also used for the training center. In 1995, the training center was reorganized into the 95th Separate Airborne Brigade. All of the units except the staff and reconnaissance company moved to Bohunia.[3]

The first jumps in the Brigade occurred in 1994. The brigade was also one of the first airmobile units to receive its Battle Flag, on 5 October 1994. Until the spring of 1996 all of the jumps were done from Mi-8 helicopters. By the end of the northern hemisphere summer of 1996 soldiers began jumping from Il-76 transport aircraft. All the jumps were conducted in the region of Smokovka, and in the Brigade's training range, located in the area of the Starokonstantinin road across the Teterev river. Currently, the brigade's drop zone is located near the Singury settlement, 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Zhytomyr.

The brigade originally had four battalions, one of which was later disbanded. Soldiers from the brigade took part in peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and between 2003 and 2005 in Iraq.[3][10]

In 2000 the brigade was reorganized into an Airmobile Brigade and was subordinated to the 8th Army Corps. Currently, the brigade includes the 13th Separate Airmobile Battalion, which consists of professional soldiers instead of conscripts. The brigade also includes the 2nd Airmobile Battalion which consists of conscripts based in Korbutovka (A-1910). Brigade headquarters and the conscript 1st Airmobile Battalion, specialized, artillery, and logistics units are based in Bohunia (A-0281).[3]

In 2014 the 95th Brigade took part in the Siege of Sloviansk and the Kramatorsk standoff during the war in Donbas.[1] On May 13, 2014, seven Paratroopers from the unit were killed during an ambush by separatists in Kramatorsk.[11][12][13][14]

In August 2014 the brigade conducted a raid behind the separatist lines. The 95th Airmobile Brigade, which had been reinforced with armor assets and attachments, launched a surprise attack on separatist lines, broke through into their rear areas, fought for 450 kilometers, and destroyed or captured numerous Russian tanks and artillery pieces before returning to Ukrainian lines. They operated not as a concentrated brigade but rather split into three company-sized elements on different axes of advance. According to Phillip Karber, it was one of the longest raids in the military history.[15]

The unit was deployed to Donetsk Airport on 21 November 2014 as part of a regular rotation of Ukrainian troops stationed in the area.[16]

Structure[]

As of 2017 the brigade's structure is as follows:

  • 95th Air Assault Brigade, Zhytomyr
    • Headquarters & Headquarters Company
    • 1st Air Assault Battalion
    • 2nd Air Assault Battalion
    • 13rth Air Assault Battalion
    • Brigade Artillery Group
      • Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery
      • Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (2S1 Gvozdika)
      • Howitzer Artillery Battalion (2A18 D-30)
      • Rocket Artillery Battalion (BM-21 Grad)
    • Anti-Aircraft Missile Artillery Battalion
    • Tank Company
    • Reconnaissance Company
    • Engineer Company
    • Landing Support Compant
    • Maintenance Company
    • Logistic Company
    • Signal Company
    • CBRN-defense Company
    • Medical Company
    • Sniper Platoon

Past Commanders[]

  • Major general Vitaly Raevsky
  • Colonel Kinzerskiy
  • Colonel Chabanenko
  • Colonel Hortuyk
  • Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Shvets (2008)[17]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Oleh Huliak[18]
  • Colonel Stanislav Chumak
  • Colonel Mykhaylo Zabrodsky (2013-2015)
  • Colonel Oleh Hut (2015-present)[19]

Gallery[]

  • «Saber Junction-2018».

  • Brigade's soldiers prepare for movement during «Saber Junction-2018».

  • Brigade's KRAZ "Spartan" on Independence day parade, 2016.

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b More than 30 killed in Odessa blaze as Ukraine violence spreads, Channel NewsAsia (3 May 2014) Archived May 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
    (in Ukrainian) The number of dead commandos during Kramatorsk increased to seven - SBU, Ukrayinska Pravda (13 May 2014)
  2. ^ U.S.-Ukraine military relations and the value of interoperability, pg 17
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e 95-я отдельная аэромобильная бригада [95th Separate Airmobile Brigade] (in Russian). Ryazan Airborne School Alumni, Spetsnaz and Airborne Veterans Organization. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ https://www.tactical-life.com/lifestyle/military-and-police/inside-look-ukraines-top-warriors/
  6. ^ https://censor.net.ua/en/photo_news/3081614/they_arent_called_ukrainian_armed_forces_elite_for_nothing_poroshenko_on_ukrainian_commandoes_photos
  7. ^ Partnership for Peace Ukrainian Designated Units.
  8. ^ "21st Century Maneuver | Marine Corps Association". www.mca-marines.org. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  9. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 465.
  10. ^ Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Official Bulletin(in Ukrainian) Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Rebel ambush near Kramatorsk kills seven Ukrainian paratroopers; one rebel dead (UPDATED)". www.kyivpost.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Ukraine crisis: 'Eight killed' in ambush in east - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Separatists kill seven Ukraine soldiers in heaviest loss for Kiev forces". Reuters. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Под Краматорском силовики попали в засаду. Есть погибшие". Украинская правда. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. ^ "21st Century Maneuver | Marine Corps Association". www.mca-marines.org. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  16. ^ ""Киборги" провели ротацию в Донецком аэропорту". Ukrinform.
  17. ^ (in Ukrainian) Staff meeting of the 8th Army Corps
  18. ^ (in Ukrainian) Brigade prepares for 16th anniversary of airmobile troops
  19. ^ "Комбриг 95-ї бригади Олег Гуть отримав нагороду від Порошенка | Теми". www.1.zt.ua. Retrieved 25 August 2017.

Bibliography[]

  • Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
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