The 14th Mechanized Brigade "Prince Roman the Great", (, abbreviated ) is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in December 2014. It is based in

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

as part of

Operational Command West 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 Districts o ...

. The brigade has been actively participating in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, as a result of the Russian invasion in 2022.

History

The 14th Mechanized Brigade was established on December 1, 2014, in Volodymyr, Ukraine and was led by Colonel Oleksandr Zhakun. The brigade was formed from the remains of the 51st Mechanized Brigade and new personnel. The brigade included a reactive artillery battalion, a tank battalion with new tanks from the Lviv Tank Factory, an antitank battery, and a repair battalion. The 1st Territorial Defence Battalion "Volyn" joined the brigade as the 99th Mechanized Infantry Battalion. The brigade was sent to defend

Krasnohorivka Krasnohorivka (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 16,714 (2001). History The town was founded in the first half of the 19th century by migrants from the Ukrainian villages of Poltava Governorate and Kharkov G ...

and Marinka in the

Donbas region The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

in June 2015. In July 2017, the brigade participated in military exercises in Luhansk region using the

UR-77 The UR-77 Meteorit (russian: УР-77 «Метеорит», lit=Meteorite) is a Soviet mine clearing vehicle, based on a variant of the 2S1 Gvozdika chassis. Description The vehicle is armed with a launcher and two mine-clearing line charges. When ...

remote demining technique. On October 14, 2019, the brigade was granted the honorific "

Roman the Great Roman Mstislavich (russian: Рома́н Мстисла́вич Га́лицкий; uk, Рома́н Мстисла́вич), known as Roman the Great (c. 1152 – Zawichost, 19 June 1205) was a Rus’ prince, Grand Prince of Kiev, member of t ...

", after the twelfth-century ruler of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...

Volyn Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

, and

Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the ...

who founded the Romanovich branch of the

Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

. The 14th Mechanized Brigade was involved in several battles in the Russian war against Ukraine conflict. On March 8, 2022, its tank crews destroyed six Russian tanks in the battle of

Makariv Makariv (, ) is an urban-type settlement in Bucha Raion, in Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Makariv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population of the settlement is , down from 12,042 in 2 ...

. In the same battle, three crew members were killed. On April 13, 2022, the brigade used Bayraktar drones to correct fire on a Russian military column, attacking it with 122mm 21-gerbral volley reactive fire systems. President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

recognized the 14th Mechanized Brigade for its contribution to the Kharkiv offensive, which resulted in the capture of

Kupiansk Kupiansk ( uk, Куп'янськ, ) 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 administrative offices of Kupiansk U ...

and the cities of

Velykyi Burluk Velykyi Burluk ( uk, Великий Бурлук, lit=Great Swamp) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, in Kupiansk Raion of Kharkiv Oblast. It hosts the administration of Velykyi Burluk rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Popula ...

and

Vovchansk Vovchansk ( uk, Вовчанськ, ) is a Ukrainian city in Chuhuiv Raion of Kharkiv Oblast (province). It hosts the administration of Vovchansk hromada (urban settlement), one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: History The settlemen ...

near the Ukrainian-Russian border. The brigade was involved in a pincer attack that led to the capture of Hnylytsa and Artemivka along the

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, Don ...

Honorary title

On May 5, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the unit the honourary "For Courage and Bravery" as a result of their actions during the war.

Structure

As of 2023 the brigade's structure is as follows: * 14th Mechanized Brigade,

** Brigade Headquarters and HQ Company ** Tank Battalion ** 1st Motorized Battalion ** 1st Mechanized Battalion ** 2nd Mechanized Battalion ** 3rd Mechanized Battalion ** Artillery Group ** Reconnaissance Company ** Anti-Aircraft Company ** Support units

References

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces Mechanized brigades of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2014 Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas