42nd Motorized Infantry Battalion is a formation 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 ...

. It was originally formed as the 42nd Territorial Defence Battalion "Rukh Oporu" (from — "

Resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

") in

Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was k ...

. The battalion fought in 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

In August 2014 the battalion was involved in an attempt of the Ukrainian command to unblock encircled forces near Ilovaisk. An assault squad was formed that had 90 soldiers. It was sent from

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 ...

in direction of Ilovaisk, after it became clear Russian military forces approached Ilovaisk. The unit was supposed to meet a company tactical group of

92nd Mechanized Brigade The 92nd Assault Brigade "Ivan Sirko" (), abbreviated 92 OShBr (), is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Its honorific name is after Cossack military leader Ivan Sirko. The unit was formed in 1999 as the 6th Mechanized Division based on ...

and try to breach Russian encirclement. The squad arrived on 27 August to Dokuchaievsk city where it was beefed up with 2 IFVs and advanced towards Ilovaisk. The column stopped in the field for a night, and shortly after it was hit by heavy artillery shelling. The next morning it was completely defeated by Russian paratroopers.

Command

(2014) Yuriy Olefirenko. (2014) Yuriy Onifeyenkov. (2014-2015) Konstantin Zaichenko. Lieutenant Colonel Serhiy Averyanov.

References

Territorial defence battalions of Ukraine {{Ukraine-mil-unit-stub