The 54th Mechanized Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa () is a brigade 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 ...

, part of

Operational Command East The Operational Command East ( OC East, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in eastern Ukraine. Its headquarters is currently located in Dnipro. History When Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there were three ...

. The brigade was based in

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

and was formed in 2014. The brigade fought in 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 ...

and 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

War in Donbas (2014–2022)

Between 18 and 22 December 2016, the brigade fought in the

Battle of Svitlodarsk The Battle of Svitlodarsk took place during the war in Donbas near Svitlodarsk, Donetsk Oblast in 2016. It was described as the "bloodiest battle in 5 months". The battle It is unclear who initiated the heavy fighting near Svitlodarsk on ...

. The fighting began with a pro-Russian separatist attack against the 54th's positions. The brigade counterattacked the separatist flank and captured new positions. During the fighting, nine of the brigade's soldiers were killed and 35 were wounded. Press reports at the time described the action as the bloodiest in the preceding five months. The Georgian Legion fought in eastern Ukraine under the overall command of the 54th Mechanized Brigade. In December 2017, the Legion withdrew from the brigade citing the "incompetence" of the brigade's command after a costly operation conducted near

Svitlodarsk Svitlodarsk (, ; ) is a city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. The city has a population of It is an industrial town, built as the home for the Vuhlehirska power station. During the war in Donbas that began in 2014, the c ...

on 16 December 2017. The 54th Mechanized Brigade denied that a "Georgian Legion" had ever existed among their ranks. In January 2018 the Legion's commander Mamulashvili said the Legion remained committed to the Ukrainian cause and had moved to another brigade. He added that the decision was not connected to a political conflict between Mikhail Saakashvili and

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

. On May 5, 2018, during a raid, a unit of the 25th Infantry Battalion of the brigade captured a separatist fighter from the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade. On June 15, 2018, the brigade returned from the Joint Forces Operation Zone, where they had fought for eight months on the

Arc. During the rotation, 170 fighters of Russian-aligned groups and 19 pieces of materiel were neutralized, three enemy positions were destroyed, and two settlements were recaptured. In mid-July 2019, the 54th Brigade conducted an operation in the Donbas, destroying a military base. The attack, which lasted only 12 minutes, destroyed valuable military equipment, killed 20 soldiers, and wounded 11. On May 6, 2020, the brigade was given the honorary title of "

Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (; ; ) was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host and the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687–1708. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired Cultural legacy of Mazeppa, many literary, artistic and musical works. He was ...

Russia-Ukraine war (2022–present)

During April 2022, units of the 54th Mechanized Brigade, including the K2 Battalion, took part in combat operations in the

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 ...

.; the K2 Battalion continued operating in the Donetsk Oblast during May 2022. By August 2022, the K2 Battalion was taking part in

the defense ''The Defense'' (also known as ''The Luzhin Defense''; ) is the third novel written by Vladimir Nabokov after he had immigrated to Berlin. It was first published in Russian 1930 and later in English in 1964. Publication The novel appeared first ...

of Marinka in the Donetsk Oblast. In September 2022, the brigade took part in an operation to recapture the village of

Spirne Spirne (; ; lit. "disputed") is a rural settlement in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It belongs to the Soledar urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. A gas compression station and farm are located in the settlement, and the Mount ...

in the

as part of a a major Ukrainian offensive. On December 6, 2022, the brigade was awarded the medal "

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 presidential decree. As of May 2023, the 54th Brigade's K2 Battalion was operating on the "

Soledar Soledar (, ; , ; ) is a destroyed city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Situated in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the city was formerly highly important for its salt mining industry, from which its name Soledar is derived. The ...

Siversk Siversk (, ; ), formerly known as Yama () until 1973, is a city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its economy has traditionally been based around the mining and processing of dolomite. In January 2022, it had an estimated population o ...

front". In March 2024, mechanized elements of the 54th Brigade reportedly took part in combat near the village of , 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 ...

. During May 2024 and July 2024, the brigade's K2 Battalion was involved in combat on the

front, in the area of the village of Verkhn'okam'yans'ke. By July 2024, it was reported that this battalion had held positions on the Siversk front for more than a year. As of November 2024, units of the 54th Brigade were operating on the

front under the command of the . As of March 2025, the K2 Battalion was still taking part in combat on the

front, including at the village of Verkhn'okam'yans'ke. As of February 2025, the 54th Brigade's "Incognito Battalion" was also operating in the

Organization

As of 2024, the brigade's structure is as follows: * 54th Mechanized Brigade,

** Headquarters & Headquarters Company ** 1st Mechanized Battalion *** Legion recon group

Attack UAV Unit "Legion" ** K-2 battalion

2nd Mechanized Battalion "K-2" *** Attack UAV Platoon ** 3rd Mechanized Battalion ** 25th Separate Motorized Battalion "

Kyivan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

" (unit number А2457) ** 1st Rifle Battalion ** 2nd Rifle Battalion ** Tank Battalion ** Field Artillery Regiment *** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery *** 1st Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (

2S3 Akatsiya The SO-152 (Russian: СО-152), usually known by its Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, GRAU designation 2S3 (), is a Soviet Union, Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled gun developed in 1968, as a response to the American 155 mm M109 how ...

) *** 2nd Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

) *** Rocket Artillery Battalion (

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

) *** Anti-tank Artillery Battalion (

MT-12 Rapira 2A19 or T-12 is a Soviet-designed 100-mm anti-tank gun. It was the first anti-tank gun to adopt a smoothbore barrel, and to introduce modern armor piercing shot, like the APFSDS. It uses long projectiles that are more powerful than its caliber ...

) ** Anti-Aircraft Missile Artillery Battalion ** Special Purpose Reconnaissance Company "Incognito" ** Ministry of Magic drone unit

Aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...

Drone Unit "Ministry of Magic" ** Attack UAV Company "Divine Punishment" ("Nebesna Kara") ** Sniper Company ** Engineer Battalion ** Maintenance Battalion ** Logistic Battalion ** Electronic Warfare Company ** Signal Company ** Radar Company **

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclea ...

Company ** Medical Company

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 Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine