The 1st Presidential Brigade of Operational Assignment named after Hetman

Petro Doroshenko Petro Dorofiiovich Doroshenko (; 1627–1698) was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of right-bank Ukraine (1665–1672) and a Russian voivode. Background and early career Petro Doroshenko was born in Chyhyryn into a noble ...

"Bureviy" (1 БрОП, Unit Number 3027) () is a unit of the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

, and is part of the Northern Operational Zone. The

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

was formed in 2014 in response to the beginning of the

War in Donbas 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 Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

History

War in Donbas

On July 27, 2014, the 14th Special Purpose Regiment was reorganized into the 1st Operational Brigade, with significantly improved equipment. It became the first

national guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

brigade to receive

armoured vehicles Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of Fragmentation (weaponry), shrapnel, bullets, Shell (projectile), shells, Rocke ...

and

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s. The brigade participated in several battles during the

, mainly in Krasnyi Lyman and

Ilovaisk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine; residence of Ilovaisk urban hromada. The city is ''de facto'' annexed by Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional ra ...

. During the second battle, the brigade held positions near Komsomolske (now

Kalmiuske Kalmiuske or Komsomolske is a city in Kalmiuske Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is a limestone mining city, located on the Kalmius river of eastern Ukraine. It has a population of Geography Kalmiuske is located on the Kalmius river that f ...

Interwar

On August 31, 2015, opposition parties organized a rally outside the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

calling for administrative

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

, and the 1st Operational Brigade were sent to maintain order. The protest turned violent as

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s were thrown at the brigade's members. More than 50 were wounded and 4 died after the incident. On August 23, 2017, by Presidential Decree No. 232/2017, the brigade was honored with the title "Presidential Brigade "

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

"". On February 17, 2022, the 1st Operational Brigade and the national police took control of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Station. According to the calculations of the "Book of Remembrance of the Fallen", the brigade lost at least 6 soldiers in the

before the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On February 24, 2022, once 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 ...

began, the 1st Operational Brigade began defending the capital of

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, ...

in the Battle of Kyiv. On March 15–16, during the

Battle of Moshchun The battle of Moshchun was a series of military engagements for control of the village of Moshchun and its surroundings during the initial phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The battle lasted from 5 March to 21 March 2022, and has been ...

, 6 soldiers from this brigade were

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. After successfully defending Kyiv, the brigade was then transferred to the Battle of Donbas in summer 2022. They participated especially for the major battles in

Severodonetsk Sievierodonetsk or Severodonetsk, officially since 2024 Siverskodonetsk, is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located to the northeast of the left bank of the Donets river and approximately to the northwest from the administrativ ...

and

Lysychansk Lysychansk ( , ; , ; , ) is a city in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located on the high right bank of the Donets River, approximately from the administrative center of the oblast, Luhansk. It faces Sievierodonet ...

. By late 2022, the brigade was then transferred to help the fight in the

Battle of Bakhmut The battle of Bakhmut was a major battle between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of the city of Bakhmut, during the eastern Ukraine campaign, a theatre of the Russian invasion of Uk ...

. In January 2023, the brigade became an "

Offensive Guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

" brigade, used specifically for military offensives. By spring, the brigade was engaged in the defense of Luhansk Oblast, specifically in the village of

Bilohorivka Bilohorivka () may refer to several settlements in Ukraine * Bilohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, a village * Bilohorivka, a former village in Donetsk Oblast that was disestablished in 2008 * Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast, an urban-type settlement * , ...

. They also fought in the area of the

Serebriansky forest The Serebryansky forest, officially designated as the Serebrianskyi reserve (), is a natural reserve area in Eastern Ukraine, along the Siverskyi Donets river. Location The forest is located about southwest of Kreminna in the Luhansk Oblast. ...

near the city of

Kreminna Kreminna (, ) is a city in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it served as the administrative center of former Kreminna Raion. Its population was estimated at as of January 2022. Following the Russian invasio ...

. On March 26, 2024, the 1st Operational Brigade received the honorary award "За мужність та відвагу" by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

. Units of the brigade, including its "Forpost" and "Khoryv" battalions, operated in the Serebriansky forest in August 2024. In February and March 2025, the brigade was operating on the Kupiansk front in the

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 brigade continued operating on the Kupiansk front in May.

Structure

* 1st Presidential Operational Brigade named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko "Bureviy" ** Brigade’s Headquarters ** Kulchitskyi Battalion *** 1st Company *** 2nd Company *** 3rd Company **

2nd Battalion of Operational Assignment ** 1st Guardsmen Battalion ** 3rd Guardsmen Battalion ** Artillery Battalion ** Anti-Aircraft Defense Battalion ** Bureviy 1Bat

2nd Operational Battalion "Irbis" ** 3rd Operational Battalion "Groza" ** 4th Operational Battalion "Khoryv", commander - Colonel ** 5th Operational Battalion "Bastion" ** Unmanned Systems Battalion ** anti-aircraft UAV battery «Skyfall» ** артилерійський дивізіон ** anti-aircraft missile and artillery division ** tank company ** Rifle Company (Reserve), 2016 ** Special Forces Sniper Company "Bekas Company" ** reconnaissance technical equipment unit "Zaichiky Circassia" ** support battalion ** motor transport battalion ** medical company ** canine company ** orchestra

Gallery

Image:President on the 10th anniversary of the National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard has become indispensable in the fight against Russian aggression at the front and in maintaining security in the rear. (53728387573).jpg, , alt=Brigade reciving the For Courage and Bravery ribbon on the 10th anniversary of the National Guard of Ukraine

References

{{Reflist Brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2014