The 57th Otaman Kost Hordiienko Motorized Brigade () 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 ...

. The brigade was formed beginning in November 2014 in the city of

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

Kirovohrad Oblast Kirovohrad Oblast (), also known as Kirovohradshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (''province'') in central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The oblast's population is It is ...

. Initially, the brigade consisted of three volunteer territorial defence battalions. By the summer of 2015, the brigade was deployed to fight 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 ...

. The ground forces plan to mechanize the brigade in the future. On 6 May 2019, the brigade received the honorary name of Kost Hordiienko, a

Zaporozhian Cossack The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossac ...

Kosh otaman Kosh may refer to: Ukrainian culture * Kosh otaman (16–18th centuries), an officer of the Zaporozhian Host * Kosh or Kish, a military society of Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also kn ...

of the 18th century. During the

2022 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 ...

, the brigade received the recently established "For Courage and Bravery" award by

Ukrainian president 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. ...

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 ...

for liberating a number of settlements in the

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 ...

. The unit was also noted for its servicemembers having been previously awarded 275 state awards. At the time of 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 ...

, the brigade was stationed in the

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

. The brigade was outnumbered by Russian forces and pushed out of its positions. It was redeployed to the

to participate in the Ukrainian counteroffensive there, where it took part in the capture of , , , Sukhyi Stavok, , and Davydiv Brid. The 57th Brigade was redeployed to 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 ...

after its successes in Kherson Oblast, and spent the second half of 2023 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 ...

, in the area of

Kupiansk Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) 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 administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...

. As of October 2024, it was taking part in the defense of

Vovchansk Vovchansk (, ; ) is a destroyed city in Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, northeastern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of . The Vovcha river, a tributary of the Donets river, runs through the city. Vovchansk had a population of However, th ...

Structure

As of 2024, the brigade's structure was as follows: * 57th Motorized Brigade,

** Headquarters & Headquarters Company ** 57mot 17bat

** 34th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion "Batkivshchyna" *** I shelena thumb

Assault Battalion "Shalena Zhraya". Special assault unit formed by Chechen volunteers. ** 42 OMPB ZSU

42nd Motorized Infantry Battalion "Rukh Oporu" ** 117th Assault Battalion ** 9riflebat

9th Rifle Battalion (military unit A7093) ** 420riflebat

420th Rifle Battalion (military unit A4821) ** Georgian Partizans. A group of Georgian volunteers with close connections to Donbas Battalion. ** I 57mot tank

Tank Battalion (

T-64BV The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Alexander Morozov. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while the T-62 supported in ...

and T-64BM Bulat) ** Special unit "Hort" ** I 57mot artillery

Artillery Group *** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery *** Field artillery battalion (

M777 The M777 howitzer is a British towed artillery, towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the Australian Army, ground forces of Australia, Canadian Army, Canada, Colombia, Indian Army, India, Saudi Arabian Army, Saudi Ar ...

) *** Self-propelled 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 Defense Battalion (

9K35 Strela-10 The 9K35 ''Strela-10'' (; ) is a Soviet highly mobile, short-range surface-to-air missile system. It is visually aimed, and utilizes optical/ infrared-guidance. The system is primarily intended to engage low-altitude threats, such as helicopters. ...

) **

Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

Company ** UAV strike company "Falcon Squad" ** Engineer Battalion ** Logistic Battalion ** Maintenance Battalion **

Signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

Company ** Radar Company ** Medical Company ** Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence Protection Company

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Motorized 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