The 59th Separate Assault Brigade () is a formation of the

Unmanned Systems Forces The Unmanned Systems Forces ( USF, ) is a Military branch, branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine that specializes in drone warfare and the use of unmanned military robots on Land warfare, land, Naval warfare, sea, and Ae ...

formed in 2014 as part 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 activated on 8 December 2014 in the city of

Haisyn Haisyn (, , ) or Haysyn is a city in central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Haisyn Raion within Vinnytsia Oblast. It is located on the in the eastern part of the historical region of Podolia. Its population is Name It i ...

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

and took command of three volunteer territorial defense battalions. On 24 August 2015, Ukraine's Independence Day, the brigade received its

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and became fully operational. 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

On 8 December 2016, the commander of

Operational Command South The Operational Command South ( OC South, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in the southern part of Ukraine, which was formed in January 1998 as the Southern Operation Command on the basis of the Odesa Military District and was headq ...

named the 59th Brigade the best Ukrainian motorized brigade according to a 2015 summary. On 20 January 2018, the brigade's units returned to garrison in

from the frontlines. They had been deployed in the combat zone in Donbas in the Pryazovia region since May 2017.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

The main units of the 59th Brigade were deployed to a camp in the

Oleshky Sands Oleshky Sands is a semi-desert in Ukraine inland from the Black Sea. It consists of sand dunes or ''kuchuhury'' (locally), which are up to five meters high. Sparse vegetation can be located across the sands. Origin The sands are thought to be ...

at the onset of the

. Vastly outnumbered by Russian forces advancing from Crimea, most of the brigade withdrew over the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

, where it took part in the city's defense. The 9th "Vinnytsia Scythians" Battalion was sent to cover

Melitopol Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...

in the early hours of the invasion, and its commander, Serhii Kotenko, was later killed in action near

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

on 9 March 2022. In the Mykolaiv Oblast, units of Ukraine's 59th Brigade were responsible for recapturing the villages of Shevchenkove, , , , and east of Mykolaiv. From mid-March 2022, units of the 59th Brigade held front line positions in the village of Posad-Pokrovske 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 ...

along with Ukraine's 28th Brigade. On the night of 9 November 2022, units of the brigade advanced to the village of Zelenyi Hai. On 11 November, footage was published of units of the 9th Battalion of the 59th Brigade raised the Ukrainian flag over the village of Blahodatne. After the Russian withdrawal from right-bank Kherson Oblast, the brigade was moved 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 ...

front, near the village of Pisky. A combat drone unit attached to the 59th Brigade took part 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 ...

under the command of

Robert Brovdi Robert Yosypovych Brovdi (; born 9 August 1975), commonly known by his call sign Madyar ( from ) is a Ukrainian soldier, politician, and businessman who is the founder of the Ukrainian military drone unit "Madyar's Birds" (). Early life and edu ...

. During summer 2023, the brigade continued to operate on the Donetsk front. Units of the brigade, including the 11th Battalion, were positioned on the Pisky- Pervomaiske front outside of the city of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

in June 2023. By 8 September 2023, the brigade's units had cleared Russian positions and entrenched themselves in Opytne, bringing part of the settlement back under Ukrainian control. " Chosen Company", a group of volunteers from the United States, Australia, and several other countries, is attached to the 59th Brigade as an assault detachment within the brigade's reconnaissance company. The unit, which was formerly a part of the

International Legion The International Legion was created in Italy by Giuseppe Garibaldi, on October 5, 1860 – in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Volturno, where the forces of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were decisively broken. It had b ...

, conducted reconnaissance and assault operations during the

2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...

. In 2024, a ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article reported three incidents where members of Chosen Company killed Russian POWs, based on statements made by former members of the company. As of July 2024, the 59th Brigade was positioned near

Krasnohorivka Krasnohorivka (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is situated west of Donetsk. As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, 2001 census, it had a population of 16,714. The city has been under Donetsk People's ...

. Syrskyi ordered an inspection of the 59th Brigade in July 2024 amid losses and accusations of misconduct against its commander, Bohdan Shevchuk, who had been appointed in April 2024. In November 2024, the brigade was positioned near the fortress city of

Pokrovsk Pokrovsk (, ; ), formerly known as Krasnoarmiisk (until 2016) and Grishino (until 1934), is a city and the administrative center of Pokrovsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located northwest of Donetsk. Prior to 2020, it was incorporat ...

. It was ordered to stop a Russian penetration along the Zhovte-Novotroyitske-

Shevchenko Shevchenko ( ; alternative spellings Schevchenko, Ševčenko, Shevcenko, Szewczenko, Chevchenko) is a family name of Ukrainians, Ukrainian origin. It is derived from the Ukrainian word ''shvets'' ( ; ), literally meaning "Shoemaking, cobbler or sho ...

line, but failed to do it. Brigade members complained that they were stretched thin and that the orders were unrealistic. On 3 January 2025, the brigade was reorganized into an assault brigade and transferred to the Unmanned Systems Forces.59-ту бригаду реорганізували у штурмову бригаду безпілотних систем
/ref> On 19 May 2025, the commander of the brigade, Lieutenant Colonel was dismissed and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Sak.

Structure

As of 2024, the brigade's structure is as follows: * 59th Motorized Brigade,

** Brigade Headquarters and HQ Company ** 9th Motorized Infantry Battalion "

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

" (military unit A2896) *** Aerial Reconnaissance Unit "Airships" ** 10th Motorized Infantry Battalion "

Polissya Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region should ...

" (military unit A2960) ** 11th Motorized Infantry 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 ...

" (military unit A2980) ** 59motor 1rifle

1st Rifle Infantry Battalion ** 2nd Rifle Infantry Battalion ** 70riflebat

70th Rifle Battalion (military unit A4628) ** Separate Infantry Battalion " Da Vinci Wolves". Commander Serhii Filimonov. ** Tank Battalion ( T-64BV and

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

) **

Artillery Group *** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery *** Observer Battery *** 1st Self-propelled Artillery Division ( D-20) *** 2nd Self-propelled Artillery Division (

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 ...

) *** Multiple Rocket Launcher Battery (

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 Division (

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 Defense Artillery Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company *** Assault Platoon "Chosen Company" (formerly part of the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine). Commander "Ryan". ** Inquisition_drone_unit

Consolidated

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

Battalion "Inquisition of the 59th Legion" *** "Michigan" Group *** "Key" Group *** "Baltic" Group *** "Eyes of Retribution" Group ** Combat Engineer Battalion ** Maintenance Battalion ** Logistic Battalion ** Signal Company ** Radar Company ** Medical 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 ** MP Platoon ** Brigade Band ** Training Center ***"Night Samurai" Unit.

References

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces 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 Unmanned Systems Forces (Ukraine)