The 130th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (A1994) is a battalion of the

Ukrainian ground forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

acting as an independent unit subordinated directly to the

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 ...

and has seen combat during both the

War in Donbass The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation ...

and the

Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, performing reconnaissance and combat operations throughout the entire front.

History

It was established on 4 April 2014 as a separate reconnaissance battalion for the

. On 8 June 2015, at midnight, near Grechishkyne, in a clash between a reconnaissance group of the battalion and the DRG of the

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

, a soldier of the battalion, Andriy Vasylovich Brik was killed. On 27 September 2015, a soldier of the battalion was murdered at its position in Purdivka, his body had gunshot and stabbing wounds. On 22 November 2015, a soldier of the battalion, Bilyk Andriy Bogdanovych died in Malinove after being blown up by a landmine while performing a combat operation. On 5 October 2016, an officer of the Battalion, Yarovets Maksym Oleksandrovych was killed by a landmine explosion while on a combat mission. On 23 October 2016, while performing a combat mission in Luhanske, a soldier of the battalion, Khrupchyk Ivan Vasilyovych was killed. On 23 May 2018, a meeting was held in

Dubno Dubno (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the capital city, administrative center of Dubno Raion ...

regarding the issue of transferring the premises of the Dubno Correctional Colony to the battalion and the process was completed in August 2018. On 5 January 2020, in Zolote, a

GAZ-66 The GAZ-66 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and later Russian four wheel drive, 4x4 all-road (off-road) military truck produced by GAZ. It was one of the main cargo vehicles for motorized infantry of the Soviet Army and is still employed in former Sovi ...

truck of the battalion was blown up by a TM-62, a serviceman of the 130th Battalion Dychek Serhiy Oleksandrovych was killed and another soldier was seriously wounded. In March 2022, the battalion's group conducted operations in the

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

between

Ivankiv Ivankiv ( ) is a rural settlement in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is situated on the left bank of the Teteriv River. Ivankiv hosts the administration of Ivankiv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its po ...

and

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. The group conducted a successful ambush on a column of about fifty retreating Russian vehicles on 31 March 2022 near Leonivka and Zymovyshche killing 20 Russian soldiers. Later, the battalion's Bravo Group conducted many operations in the Zaporizhia direction and in

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 ...

, aimed specifically at recapturing lost positions. During the

2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...

, the group conducted four successful assaults. The group stormed Lobkove in coordination with the 128th Brigade, having only one soldier wounded. The assault on Pyatikhatky was more difficult as Russians used tanks to counterattack but were defeated. During combat near

Robotyne Robotyne (, ) is a village in Polohy Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, it is part of Tokmak urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The village is approximately southeast of Orikhiv, and north of Tokmak. It had a p ...

, many soldiers were wounded being engaged in mining, ambushes, and FPV warfare. The Battalion was also amongst the first to take part in the

2024 Kursk offensive 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

being deployed there since the first days and was amongst the units to capture

Sudzha Sudzha (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Sudzhansky District in Kursk Oblast, Russia, located on the Sudzha and Oleshnya rivers southwest of Kursk, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a population of 5,127 people. ...

. In October 2024, Andriy's unit was transferred to the Kursk direction in the Sumy region. On 24 October 2024, a soldier of the battalion, Olshansky Andriy Vitaliyovych received shrapnel wounds and died on 26 October during evacuation in 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 ...

as a result of a drone attack.

Equipment

Structure

The structure of the battalion is as follows: * Management and Headquarters * 1st Reconnaissance Company * 2nd Reconnaissance Company * Long Range Reconnaissance Company * Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Company ** FPV drone Platoon ** Reconnaissance UAV Platoon ** UAV information collection and processing department * Maintenance Company * Fire Support Company ** Machine Gun Squad ** Sniper Squad * Material support Platoon * Bravo Group * Commandant Platoon * Medical Center

Commanders

* Lieutenant Colonel Levchenko Valeriy ValentinovichПро нагородження Почесною грамотою обласної державної адміністрації
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References

Sources

*
Олександр Громаков, підполковник, начальник штабу 130-го окремого розвідувального батальйону

* [http://zdolbuniv.com/region/zdolbunivschyna-sotni-lyudej-provely-v-ostannyu-put-zahybloho-bijtsya-130-okremoho-rozviduvalnoho-bataljonu.html Здолбунівщина: сотні людей провели в останню путь загиблого бійця 130 окремого розвідувального батальйону]
Військові Рівненщини мають власні бойові прапори

Миколу Ткачука вбили у військовій частині

Відбулось розширене засідання колегії облдержадміністрації

Автомобіль розвідбатальйону з зони АТО передали на експонування у рівненський музей

Розвідувальний батальйон ЗСУ повернувся із зони АТО

130 й окремий «розвідбат» у Млинові

У Рівному відбувся чемпіонат з легкоатлетичного кросу серед військовослужбовців

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces Military units and formations established in 1992 Ministry of Defence (Ukraine) Special forces of Ukraine Battalions of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas