42nd Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)

Ukrainian Ground Forces unit

Russo-Ukrainian war
- Battle of Andriivka
- Battle of Berkhivka
- Battle of Bakhmut
- Battle of Chasiv Yar
- Battle of Khromove
- Battle of Yahidne
- Battle of Pylna
- Battle of Oliinykove
- Battle of Hlyboke
- Battle of Starytsya

WebsiteOfficial Facebook pageCommandersCurrent
commanderLt. Col. Serhiy Lisovenko

Military unit

The 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (Ukrainian: 42 окрема механізована бригада) is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.^[1]

History

The brigade was formed on January 25, 2023, as part of the expansion of the Ukrainian Army in anticipation of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, primarily from personnel mobilized in western Ukraine and officers from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade.^{[citation needed]} The command was entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Bolechan, former commander of the 109th Battalion of the 10th Brigade. It was the second Ukrainian unit, after the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, to receive Stryker armored vehicles.^{[citation needed]} However, these were only equipped to one battalion, and the other two received the BMP-1LB, vehicles based on the MT-LB hull and equipped with a modern stabilized turret.

In September 2023 the brigade was deployed to the front for the first time, being sent together with the 44th Mechanized Brigade to the Kupiansk Raion to reinforce the Ukrainian defenses in the north.^{[citation needed]} Starting from October it was deployed in the Andriivka area near Bakhmut.^{[citation needed]} In the first months of 2024 they were part of the Ukrainian defense against the Russian winter offensive in the direction of Chasiv Yar.

2024 Kharkiv offensive

The brigade was transferred to the Kharkiv region, on 9 May, providing support to the 125th Territorial Defense Brigade in repelling a Russian attacks near the village of Pylna^[2] reportedly its "Perun" drone unit destroyed 4 Russian BMPs along with personnel near Pylna, Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.^[3] Forced to give up ground in the following days, with the arrival of elements of the 92nd Assault Brigade it managed to stop the advancement of the 18th Motor Rifle Division by taking positions in the village of Lyptsi.^[4] The drone operators of the unit fly 20 kilometers deep into Belgorod Oblast to destroy enemy targets.

Structure

As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:

42nd Mechanized Brigade,
- Headquarters & Headquarters Company
- 1st Mechanized Battalion
- 2nd Mechanized Battalion
- 422nd Separate Rifle Battalion (A4850)^{[citation needed]}
- 424th Rifle Battalion (А4856)
- Tank Battalion (T-64)
- Artillery Group "Gods of War" (“Боги війни)
  - Rocket Artillery Battery. (BM-21) Commander Captn. Mykola Kozachenko
  - Self-propelled Artillery Battery. Commander "Nazar".
- Anti-Aircraft Defense Battalion
- Reconnaissance Company
- Unmanned Systems Battalion "Perun"
- Engineer Battalion
- Logistic Battalion
- Signal Company
- Maintenance Battalion
- Radar Company
- Medical Company
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Company

Insignia History

Original unit patch
Old unit patch
Officially approved variant, 2023

References

^ "From the heroic to the mundane: 12 hours of positional war near Bakhmut". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
^ David Axe (10 May 2024). "Russia's Victory Day Offensive In Northern Ukraine Might Be An Elaborate Feint. Will Ukraine Fall For It?".
^ "Soldiers of the 42nd Brigade inflict heavy losses on the enemy near Starytsia". Militarnyi. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
^ David Axe (16 May 2024). "Russia's Victory Day Campaign Just Ran Into A Wall Of Ukrainian Mechanized Troops".

Ukrainian Ground Forces

Armoured
Mechanized Infantry
Mountain Infantry
Rocket Forces and Field Artillery
Anti-aircraft Missile Defense Artillery
Army Aviation
Military Intelligence
Electronic Warfare
Communications and Cyber Security
Corps of Engineers
CBRN Protection

Corps

Strategic Groups

Pivnich: (Sumy, Chernihiv, Kiyv, Volyn)
Khortytsia: (Kharkiv, Lyman, Soledar, Chasiv Yar)
Tavria: (Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Kryvyi Rih)
Odesa: (Kherson, Dunay, Vinnitsia)
Aleksandriya: (Kakhovka, Primorye)

Brigades

Army Aviation

Infantry¹

Presidential
3rd Assault
5th Assault
10th Mountain Assault
11th Motorized
13th Jaeger
14
15
21
22
23
24
28
30
31
32
33
41
42
43
44
47
53
54
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
65
66
67
68th Jaeger
72
88
92nd Assault
93
100
110
115
116
117
118
128th Mountain Assault
141st Infantry
142nd Infantry
143rd Infantry
144th Infantry
150
151
152
153
154
155 Infantry
156 Infantry
157 Infantry
158 Infantry
159 Infantry

Artillery

26
38
40
43
44
45
47
48
49
55
Reconnaissance
- 15
Missile
- 19
Rocket
- 27
- 107

Tank

Engineering

47th
48th
49th Assault Engineering
704th CBRN Protection

Regiments

Tank	300th Training
Mechanized	354 Training 355 Training
Anti-Aircraft Missile	38 39 1039 1121 1129
Artillery	356 Training
Engineering	Operational Support 12 16 70 91 703 Maintenance 31 50 145 146 532 Pontoon bridge 210 808
Signal	5 7 55 121

Battalions

Motorized Infantry	1st Assault 1 2 3 3rd Mechanized 4 6 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24th Assault 25 25th Assault 33rd Assault 34 40 42 43rd Territorial Defense 46th Assault 48th Assault 49th Assault 97th Mechanized 108th Assault 117th Assault 214th OPFOR 225th Assault 425th Assault
Tank	12
Mountain	8 15 108 109
Reconnaissance	54 74 120 129 130 131 143
Rifle	1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 50 51 52 (Airmobile) 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 210th Special Purpose 211th Special Purpose 403 405 407 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 451 Infantry 452 Infantry 453 Infantry 454 Infantry 455 Infantry 456 Infantry 457 Infantry 459 460 468
Engineering	308 309 310 311 321 507 534 Pontoon bridge 11
Electronic Warfare	20 520
Others	78 181 182 183 224 225 226 227 307 718