211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade (Ukraine)
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The 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade (A7147) is a
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 ...
level military unit of the Ukrainian Support Forces, part of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...
. It was established as a regiment on 3 April 2022, but was expanded to a brigade in February 2024 and has seen action 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 ...
.


History

The 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade was first established as the 210th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment on 3 April 2022 in
Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...
, on the basis of the 48th Engineering Brigade, later expanded to a brigade in February 2024. In 2022, the brigade's battalions performed combat missions including the establishment and maintenance of
Pontoon Bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...
s in
Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...
,
Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...
,
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 ...
,
Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...
and
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 ...
. At the end of August 2022, pontoon crossings and false bridges were built by the regiment during the
2022 Kherson counteroffensive A military counteroffensive was launched by Ukraine on 29 August 2022 to expel Russian forces occupying the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. Military analysts consider the counteroffensive to be the third strategic phase of th ...
. At the end of 2022, it installed heavy mechanized bridges during 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 ...
, saw combat during the
Battle of Izium On the eastern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a military engagement began in March 2022 between Russian and Ukrainian forces took place for control over the city of Izium, an important transportation node. The Russian military wan ...
and in
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk (, ; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significance. Since October 2014, Kramatorsk has been the ...
, and restored damaged equipment in
Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...
. In March 2023, it established a crossing over the Ingulets River. Two soldiers of the brigade (Grigoriev Alexei Igorovich and Oleksandr Yuriyovych Misyura) were killed in combat on 21 November 2023 in
Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...
as a result of a UAV strike. A soldier of the brigade (Tulaydan Yuri Yurievich) was killed as a result of a Russian missile attack on
Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
on 3 September 2024.


Controversy

The brigade's leadership has been accused of numerous family ties and corruption as well as abuse of authority, physical violence against servicemen, threats and extortion of money from soldiers. The brigade's servicemen were ordered to build a house in
Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-larges ...
for brigade commander Oleh Poberezhnyuk in 2023, although they were supposed to be undertaking combat duties. The platoon commander of the first battalion of the brigade and the son of the chief of staff, Vladyslav Pastukh, threatened, extorted money and physically abused the servicemen. Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...
, launched an investigation into its commander's actions. On 17 December 2024, criminal proceedings were initiated against the brigade's officials with the pre-trial investigation being conducted by the
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation. On 19 December 2024, brigade commander Oleh Poberezhnyuk was arrested and was released the next day when a bail of 900 thousand UAH was posted. Moreover, he was released of his duties as the brigade commander by the high command. On 29 December 2024, the
State Bureau of Investigation A state bureau of investigation (SBI) is a state-level detective agency in the United States. They are plainclothes agencies that usually investigate criminal cases involving the state and/or multiple jurisdictions. They also typically provide ...
searched Poberezhnyuk’s home. According to the investigation, he knew about torture and other incidents but did not intervene. He was taken to Kyiv, the same day. On 30 December, the brigade commander, Poberezhnyuk, was re-arrested, this time with a bail of 12.1 million UAH. The son of the brigade chief of staff, Vladyslav Pastukh, was also under suspicion and in May 2025, the investigation was completed which revealed him to be guilty of partaking in several crimes.


Command

* Commanders: Colonel Poberezhnyuk Oleg Volodymyrovych (2022 — 2024) * Chief of Staff: Lieutenant Colonel Valeriy Vasylevich Pastukh


References

{{Reflist Engineering units and formations 2022 establishments in Ukraine Brigades of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2022