The 81st Separate Slobozhanska Airmobile Brigade ( Ukrainian: ''81-ша окрема аеромобільна Слобожанська бригада;'' 81 ОАеМБр) is a brigade of the

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine ( AAFU; , , ), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, are the airborne forces of Ukraine. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forc ...

. 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 in 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 ...

History

War in Donbas (2014–2022)

The 81st Airmobile Brigade was established in fall 2014 from elements of the 25th Airborne Brigade. The brigade includes the 90th and 122nd Separate Airborne Battalions. In May 2015, the volunteer OUN Battalion became part of the brigade. The brigade fought in the Battle of Donetsk Airport. On 9 June 2015, brigade Lieutenant

Ivan Zubkov Ivan Ivanovych Zubkov (; 1 November 1973 – 20 January 2015) was a Ukrainian Airmobile Forces senior lieutenant and a posthumous Hero of Ukraine. He fought in the War in Donbas (2014–2022), war in Donbas as a fire support officer and was kille ...

was awarded the title

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

posthumously for calling in artillery fire on himself during the battle at Donetsk Airport. The brigade's 90th Battalion was named for Zubkov on 30 December of that year.

Russia–Ukraine war (2022–present)

At the beginning 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 units of the brigade spent a month defending the city of

Izium Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...

. Afterwards, it took up the defense of Oleksandrivka. On 30 April 2022, units of the brigade were withdrawn from the front line through

Sviatohirsk Sviatohirsk (, ; , ), formerly Slovianohirsk (), is a city in the northern part of Donetsk Region in Ukraine. It stands on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets River, from the city of Sloviansk. The population is The 16th-century Sviatohirsk L ...

. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the

Russian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Commander-in-Chief of the forces and directs the activity of the ministry. The Minister of Defence exerci ...

reported that the brigade was attacked by Russian missile troops during the night of 24-25 April 2022. In May 2022, units of the brigade took part in combat 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 ...

, including at

Sievierodonetsk Sievierodonetsk or Severodonetsk, officially since 2024 Siverskodonetsk, is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located to the northeast of the left bank of the Donets river and approximately to the northwest from the administrati ...

. In July 2022, units of the brigade took part in combat near

Sloviansk Sloviansk is a city in Donetsk Oblast, northern part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The city was known as ''Tor'' until 1784. While it did not actually belong to the raion itself, Sloviansk served as the administrative center of the S ...

and

in the Donetsk Oblast. The 81st Brigade continued to operate in the Donetsk Oblast the next month.

2022 counteroffensive

On 11 September 2022, amid an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, elements of the brigade raised the Ukrainian flag over the village of

Bohorodychne Bohorodychne (; ) is a village in Kramatorsk Raion (district) in Donetsk Oblast of south-eastern Ukraine, at about north-northwest from the centre of Donetsk city, on the right bank of the Siverskyi Donets river. History It was founded in the ...

, after having fought for it for more than three months. Over the course of the counteroffensive, after retaking Bohorodychne, units of the brigade were responsible for recapturing the settlements of Sviatohirsk,

Sosnove Sosnove () is a rural settlement in Rivne Raion of Rivne Oblast, Ukraine, located in the historic region of Volhynia. Population: The Sluch River flows through the settlement. History The town of Sosnove was founded in 1708 after the town ...

and Oleksandrivka. On September 24, Russian military bloggers reported that the brigade liberated half of Novoselivka, just 10 km north of Lyman. Four days later on the 28th, the town was fully recaptured by elements of the 81st Brigade, alongside members of the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

. By the evening of 1 October 2022, the 81st Brigade had established control over the city of Lyman. The brigade was involved in combat near the city later in the month. During May 2023, units of the 81st Brigade were holding the front line 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 ...

on the Lyman front.

Operations in Bilohorivka (2024–present)

Units of the 81st Brigade were reportedly operating near

Bilohorivka Bilohorivka () may refer to several settlements in Ukraine * Bilohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, a village * Bilohorivka, a former village in Donetsk Oblast that was disestablished in 2008 * Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast, an urban-type settlement * , ...

in the

during January 2024, February 2024, March 2024, May 2024, June 2024, and August 2024. As of January 2025, units of the brigade's 1st Battalion were operating in the area of Bilohorivka. Units of the 81st Brigade remained on 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 into March 2025.

Structure

As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows: * 81st Airmobile Brigade,

Kramatorsk Kramatorsk (, ; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significance. Since October 2014, Kramatorsk has been the ...

** Headquarters & Headquarters Company ** 81air 1bat

1st Airmobile Battalion ***

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 “SowaFm” ** 90th Airmobile Battalion (created in September 2014 on the basis of the 95th Air Assault Brigade and made up exclusively of volunteers).{{Cite web , title=81 окрема аеромобільна бригада , url=https://www.facebook.com/81oaembr/ , access-date=2022-11-22 , website=www.facebook.com , language=en Deputy Commander Dmytro Chapalika. *** FPV Strike Group “90/81 Apachi” ** 122OAB

122nd Airmobile Battalion (formed in the fall of 2014 on the basis of the 3rd battalion of the 80th Air Assault Brigade). ***

FPV Drone First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's viewpoint. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraft or oth ...

Unit "Krabs Team" ** 5th btg

5th Battalion Tactical Group ** Tank Company ** Reconnaissance Company **

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 ...

Unit "Black Raven Group" ** Artillery Group (brigade artillery group equipped with

2S1 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 ...

self-propelled artillery vehicles). ** Anti-Aircraft Company ** Support units (this includes all rear elements such as engineers, communication, medics, and material support unit).

References

Military units and formations established in 2014 Airmobile brigades Brigades of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine