132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion is a bataillon of the

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine ( AAFU; , , ), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, are the airborne forces of Ukraine. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forc ...

subordinated directly to the Air Assault Corps and is tasked with conducting combat reconnaissance operations for the Air Assault Forces. It was established in 2018 and has taken part in multiple combat operations throughout the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

History

The battalion was established on October 29, 2018, for the purpose of conducting reconnaissance operations for the

. The battalion's personnel took part in

Exercise Cambrian Patrol Exercise Cambrian Patrol is an annual international military exercise, organised by the British Army, that involves its participating units covering a 40-mile (65 km) course in less than 48 hrs while performing numerous types of military man ...

Servicemen of the battalion along with 127 other teams from 27 countries, the competition is considered one amongst the most difficult in Europe, but the battalion managed to secure a second place. The battalion has seen intensive combat during 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 ...

. It took part in the Battle for

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

with a battalion's sniper (Dmytro Oleksiyovych Karbovsky) being killed in action on 20 March 2022. It also saw combat in

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately H ...

with a female soldier of the battalion (Polishchuk Victoria Olehivna) being killed on 21 March 2022. A soldier of the battalion (Artem Pastovenskyi) was killed on 22 Match 2022. On 12 April 2022, a soldier of the battalion (Vdovichenko Vadim Viktorovych) was killed while operating in

Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...

. The battalion saw heavy combat during the battle of

Izium Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...

, in May 2022, two soldiers of the battalion (Andriy Meheda and Ivan Zaytec) being killed on 2 May 2022 while on a reconnaissance mission near the city of

. On 19 May 2022, another soldier (Oleg Mazur) was killed in an engagement with Russian forces in

. A soldier (Maxim Sizov) was killed on 3 July 2022 after being wounded the day prior by a Russian grenade attack. On 17 November 2022, the 132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion was awarded the honorary award "

For Courage and Bravery For Courage and Bravery () is an honorary award established by the President of Ukraine to recognize distinguished combat performance, courage, bravery and heroism of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine, State Border ...

" by the President of Ukraine. The battalion saw action 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 ...

with a soldier (Ilya Dotsenko) being killed as a result of a Russian airstrike in

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

. On 7 November 2023, the battalion received new "Atom Military" electric bikes for combat use. The battalion is taking 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 ...

with another soldier (Yuriy Andriyovych Pyvovarov) being killed on 31 August 2024 while performing a combat reconnaissance mission in Sheptukhivka. On 7 September 2024, another soldier (Serhiy Oliychuk) was killed 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 ...

Commanders

* Major Horpynych Artem Volodymyrovych (2018–2020) * Major Matiiv Vasyl Vasyliovych (2020–2022) * Lieutenant Colonel Gupalyuk Yury Ihorovych (2022–2023) * Major Chuprinyuk Dmytro Serhiyovych (2023-)

Structure

* Management and Headquarters * 1st Reconnaissance Company * 2nd Reconnaissance Company * 3rd Reconnaissance Company * 4th reconnaissance Company *

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

Company * Technical Intelligence Company * Logistics Company * Anti-aircraft missile Platoon * Communications platoon

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations established in 2018 Airborne units and formations of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine