The 60th Separate Mechanized Inhulets Brigade () 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 ...

formed on November 10, 2015.

History

War in Donbas

The brigade was formed on November 10, 2015, during 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 ...

, where it fought against the Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia. In February 2016, the brigade took part in military exercises 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 ...

Russia-Ukraine war

Operations in Kherson Oblast (2022)

On the night of 10-11 March 2022, in the village of , Kherson Oblast, Russian reconnaissance units killed a member of the 60th Brigade and captured two others, later killing them in the village of . During the day on 11 March, an additional five soldiers of the 60th Brigade were killed in combat near Orlove, but the Ukrainian forces reportedly managed to stop the advance of a Russian column. During mid-March 2022, units of the brigade were positioned on the border of Kherson Oblast and

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetro ...

. A member of the brigade's 7th Infantry Company was killed by artillery fire near

Novovorontsovka Novovorontsovka (; ) is a rural settlement in Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Novovorontsovka settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Novovorontsovka is located on the right bank of th ...

on 12 March, and another soldier was killed in , Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, on 14 March. By the end of March 2022, it was announced that the brigade, alongside the 4th Battalion of the 17th Tank Brigade, had taken part in the recapture of eleven settlements in the northern portion of the Kherson Oblast, including Orlove and Novovorontsovka. On 30 June 2022, the Ukrainian military announced that elements of the 60th Brigade had conducted a successful offensive near the village of , restoring Ukrainian control over the settlement. Units of the brigade continued to operate near Pot'omkyne in July 2022. On 11 July 2022, the 60th Brigade announced that its forces had captured the village of . A battalion of the 60th Brigade, along with a battalion from Ukraine's 128th Brigade, conducted an offensive operation in October 2022 forcing Russian troops to retreat from parts of the

west of 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 ...

towards the villages of

Dudchany Dudchany (, ) is a village located in Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. It is located in the northwest of the oblast on the right bank of the Dnieper. The village had a pre-war population of 2,043 according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, ...

and

Mylove Mylove (, ; ) is a village in Beryslav Raion, within Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. It was established in 1781. Mylove hosts the administration of Mylove rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Mylove was occupied by the Russian military ...

. The brigade's name was redesignated from the 60th Infantry Brigade to the 60th Mechanized Brigade on 6 December 2022. The brigade fought 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 ...

to the point of exhaustion and were noted by the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' as having low

morale Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, ...

Lyman front (2024–present)

The 60th Brigade was active on the

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, ...

front at one point, but had been transferred to the Lyman front by March 2024. That month, it was reported that the brigade's were operating near the village of 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 60th Brigade continued to operate on the Lyman front in June 2024. In October 2024, it was reported that the 60th Brigade was active in combat near the village of Torske. The next month, it was reported that units of the brigade were defending Terny amid frequent Russian attempts to capture the village. The 60th remained active on the Lyman front in December 2024, and the next month, its mechanized units were reportedly operating in the village of . On 26 February 2025, the brigade was awarded the honorary award " For Courage and Bravery".

Structure

As of 2024, the brigade's structure is as follows: * 60th Mechanized Brigade, ** Brigade's Headquarters ** 96th Mechanized Battalion ** 97th Mechanized Battalion *** FPV Drone Company "Dragons 97" ** 98th Mechanized Battalion * 19riflebat

19th Separate Rifle Battalion (A7103) ** Tank Battalion ** Field Artillery Regiment *** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery ****

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 ...

Unit "Spear" ***1st Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion ***2nd Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion ***Rocket Artillery Unit ***Anti-Tank Unit ** Anti-Aircraft Defense Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** FPV Drone Company "Vidar" ** 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

References

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2015 Mechanized brigades of Ukraine