14th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) explained

Unit Name:14th Mechanized Brigade
Caption:Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Dates:December 1, 2014 – Present
Native Name:Ukrainian: 14-та окрема механізована бригад
Country: Ukraine
Type:Mechanized Infantry
Command Structure:Operational Command West
Garrison:Volodymyr, Volyn Oblast
Patron:Roman the Great
Commander1:Col. Alexander Okhrimenko
Battles:Russo-Ukrainian War
Decorations:
For Courage and Bravery

The 14th Mechanized Brigade "Prince Roman the Great" (abbreviated) is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in December 2014.[1] It is based in Volodymyr as part of Operational Command West.[2] The brigade has been actively participating in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, as a result of the Russian invasion in 2022.[3]

History

The 14th Mechanized Brigade was established on December 1, 2014, in Volodymyr, Ukraine and was led by Colonel Oleksandr Zhakun. The brigade was formed from the remains of the 51st Mechanized Brigade and new personnel. The brigade included a reactive artillery battalion, a tank battalion with new tanks from the Lviv Tank Factory, an antitank battery, and a repair battalion. The 1st Territorial Defence Battalion "Volyn" joined the brigade as the 99th Mechanized Infantry Battalion.[4] The brigade was sent to defend Krasnohorivka and Marinka in the Donbas region in June 2015.[5] In July 2017, the brigade participated in military exercises in Luhansk region using the UR-77 remote demining technique. On October 14, 2019, the brigade was granted the honorific "Roman the Great", after the twelfth-century ruler of Novgorod, Volyn, and Halych who founded the Romanovich branch of the Rurik dynasty.

The 3rd Battalion of the 14th Brigade was involved in blocking roads from Belarus towards Ovruch in the Zhytomyr Oblast in the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6]

The 14th Mechanized Brigade was involved in several battles in the Russian war against Ukraine conflict.[7] On March 8, 2022, its tank crews destroyed six Russian tanks in the battle of Makariv.[8] In the same battle, three crew members were killed.[9] On April 13, 2022, the brigade used Bayraktar drones to correct fire on a Russian military column, attacking it with 122mm 21-gerbral volley reactive fire systems.[10] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recognized the 14th Mechanized Brigade for its contribution to the Kharkiv offensive, which resulted in the capture of Kupiansk and the cities of Velykyi Burluk and Vovchansk near the Ukrainian-Russian border. The brigade was involved in a pincer attack that led to the capture of Hnylytsia and Artemivka along the Donets.

Honorary title

On May 5, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the unit the honorary "For Courage and Bravery" as a result of their actions during the war.[11]

Structure

As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: На місці дислокації нової 14 ОМБ вітали воїнів-захисників . 2016-01-30 . Волинські новини.
  2. Web site: Мешканці Львівщини підтримали волинян на сході . 2016-01-30 . Волинські новини.
  3. Web site: 14 October 2019 . Відбувається зустріч президента Зеленського із військовослужбовцями ООС. 14.10.2019, 15:39 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191014130913/https://aspi.com.ua/news/politika/vidbuvaetsya-zustrich-prezidenta-zelenskogo-iz-viyskovosluzhbovcyami-oos-nazhivo . 14 October 2019 . 14 October 2019.
  4. Web site: 2017-07-04 . На Луганщині відбулись навчання із застосуванням техніки дистанційного розмінування . https://web.archive.org/web/20170704133130/http://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2017/07/04/na-luganshhini-vidbulis-navchannya-iz-zastosuvannyam-tehniki-distanczijnogo-rozminuvannya/ . 4 July 2017 . 4 July 2017 . www.mil.gov.ua . Міністерство оборони України.
  5. Web site: 14-та механізована бригада "прийме" тербатальйон "Волинь" . 2016-01-30 . Волинські новини.
  6. Web site: "За добу перекрили всі під’їзні дороги з Білорусі": Іван Коруд про початок повномасштабної війни і відновлення Овруччини. 2024-01-25. 2022-11-04. Butko. Tamila. uk.
  7. Web site: Олександр Шульман, Сергій Коваленко . 18 March 2022 . Останній бій екіпажу Героїв . 2022-05-04 . АрміяInform .
  8. Web site: Travis Caldwell . Christina Walker . Aditi Sangal . Hannah Strange . Adrienne Vogt . Elise Hammond . 9 September 2022 . September 9, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news . 2022-09-11 . CNN . en.
  9. Web site: 2022-04-13 . "Bayraktar TB2" корегує вогонь РСЗВ України по колоні росіян . https://web.archive.org/web/20220413152736/https://mil.in.ua/uk/news/bayraktar-tb2-koreguye-vogon-rszv-ukrayiny-po-koloni-rosiyan/ . 13 April 2022 . 13 April 2022 . mil.in.ua/uk . Український мілітарний портал.
  10. Web site: Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminating Russian invaders in Kharkiv region . 2022-09-13 . www.ukrinform.net . en.
  11. Web site: Zelenskyy awards infantrymen: two awarded title of Hero of Ukraine . 2023-05-06 . Yahoo News . en-US.
  12. Web site: 14th Mechanized Brigade . 2024-02-11.