The 5th Heavy Mechanized Brigade () is a reserve armored formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

History

Formation

The brigade was formed in 2016, initially equipped with 30

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 ...

tanks. From late March to early April, the brigade took part in large scale exercises of Operational Command South, held 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 ...

. The goal of the exercise was to improve elements of overall defense of the region. At the end of the exercise it was announced that the brigade would be stationed close to the border with Russian-controlled

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

When on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, the unit was deployed to the southwestern part of the country near

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

. As of May, it was still in the Odesa area. In February 2022, the brigade was re-created in Kryvyi Rih to reinforce Ukrainian defense. However, due to heavy losses in other armored and mechanized brigades, tanks and manpower were used to replenish already existing units and the brigade ceased to exist again. David Axe writing for

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

, suggested that the brigade was inactive in August 2022. However, the brigade was mentioned by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his 200 day of war speech on 11 September 2022. In March 2023, the brigade has been reactivated and is currently at the stage of formation. In July 2023, the unit received a new insignia and became a part of the 10th Army Corps. It then participated 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 late 2024, the brigade has been reformed into the 5th Heavy Mechanized Brigade.

Structure

As of 2023 the brigade's structure is as follows: * Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company * 1st Tank Battalion * 2nd Tank Battalion * 3rd Tank Battalion *

Mechanized Infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps). As defined by the United States Army, me ...

Battalion *

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

Group ** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery ** Self-propelled Artillery Battalion ( 2S3 Akatsiya) ** 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) ** Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion *

Anti-Aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

Defense Artillery Battalion *

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 * Combat 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 Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

Company * Medical Company * Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Protection Company (

CBRN 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 warfare, chemical, biological warfar ...

) * Brigade Band

Past commanders

* Coronel Melnyk

References

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces Tank brigades of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Military units and formations established in 2016 Military units and formations disestablished in 2022 Military units and formations established in 2023