The 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade named after Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky () is a military formation of the Territorial Defense Forces of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It is part of

Operational Command West The Operational Command West ( OC West, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in western Ukraine. Its headquarters is located in Rivne. History When Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, there were three Military Distric ...

. The brigade participated in the September 2022 Ukrainian offensive and the 2024 Ukrainian invasion of Kursk.

History

On 27 June 2018 the brigade was formed in

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

. On 16 October 2018, as part of a working trip to

, the then President,

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

, took part in several events dedicated to the ''Day of Territorial Defense Soldiers'', which took place at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. Poroshenko inspected the bases used for training territorial defence battalions, in particular the personnel of the 64th Territorial Defense Battalion of the 103rd Independent Territorial Defense Brigade of the Lviv Oblast. From 17 to 20 July 2019, about two hundred reserve officers of the brigade underwent combat training at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security.

Operations in Donetsk Oblast

Units of the 103rd Brigade began performing combat operations in the

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

in March 2022. Between 6-10 May 2022, the brigade's 63rd and 64th Battalions repelled Russian attempts to cross the

Siverskyi Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, D ...

river near the village of Serebrianka in the

. On 3 September 2022, the brigade's 63rd Battalion participated in the capture of the village of Ozerne in

. The brigade has also been credited with capturing the village of in the Donetsk Oblast during September 2022. On 30 September, Ukrainian president Zelensky commended the 103rd Brigade, announcing that it was responsible for the liberation of Yampil in

, along with the 214th Battalion of the

Special Operations Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. In early October, the brigade took up defensive positions near

Kupiansk Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...

. On 2 October, the brigade received its battle flag. As of March 2023, units of the brigade were still operating in the Serebriansky forest near the village of Yampil, namely the brigade's 63rd, 65th, and 66th Battalions. In May 2023, the brigade's 53rd Battalion was involved in combat near

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

, namely near the villages of Berkhivka and Bohdanivka. As of May 2024, the brigade's 62nd Battalion had been deployed to the

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

2024 Ukrainian invasion of Kursk

In 2024, units of the brigade were relocated to the

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...

in order to defend the Ukrainian border, and later began participating in the Ukrainian operations in Russia's

Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kursk. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a pop ...

from the beginning of August. On 23 August 2024, the brigade was awarded the honorary title "named after Metropolitan

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; ; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Galicia and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure in office spanned two world wars and six political r ...

" by decree of President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

. In September and October 2024, it was reported that the 103rd Brigade was participating in Ukrainian operations in Russia's

. Units of the brigade took part in a mid-September battle in the village of . On December 11, 2024, a fighter of the brigade's anti-aircraft battery, who served for more than two years in the combat zone, but then left the unit without permission, accused the head of the brigade's air defense, Colonel Valentyn Kozakevych, of sabotaging the preparation of equipment, misappropriating the property of military personnel, and undermining the combat capability of the air defense unit. He also accused him of incompetence, citing examples of Kozakevych's demands: during the period of redeployment from one frontline region to another, he demanded to move in columns in places where there was an immediate threat of damage by rocket and artillery fire, demanded the accumulation of personnel in areas where the Russians hit with KABs, Shaheds and missiles.

Structure

Headquarters

Battalions

Companies

Attack Drone Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Attack (fencing) * Charge (warfare) * Offensive (military) * Strike (attack) Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic and animation * Attack! Books, a publishe ...

Company "

Common Swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or Common house martin, house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The re ...

" * Reconnaissance Company * Counter-Sabotage Company * Engineering Company * Communication Company * Logistics Company * Mortar Battery

Commanders

* Lieutenant Colonel Mykola Andrushchak (2018) * Colonel Valerii Kurko (2022)

References

{{Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces Territorial defense Brigades of Ukraine 2018 establishments in Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2018 Lviv Oblast in the Russo-Ukrainian War