Unit Name: | 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade |
Native Name: | Ukrainian: 67-та окрема механізована бригада<br>67 okrema mekhanizovana bryhada |
Dates: | November 2022 – 14 April 2024 |
Country: | |
Role: | Mechanized Infantry |
Garrison: | Dnipro, Dnipro Oblast |
Battles: | |
Website: | Official Right Sector website Official Facebook page |
Commander1: | Roman Korenyuk (October 2023 - present)[5] |
Notable Commanders: | Andriy Stempitsky (2022 - October 2023)[6] |
Identification Symbol Label: | Flag |
Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Field Insignia |
The 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade was a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces between 2022[7] and 2024.
The brigade was formed on the basis of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, the armed wing of far-right political party Right Sector.[8] In April 2024, the Brigade was disbanded, mainly due to the loss of territory in the defense of Chasiv Yar caused by preferential treatment given to Right Sector veterans and failure to reform the old volunteer battalion structure into a standard Ukrainian Armed Forces unit.
Shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian command decided to bring all volunteer formations under the command of the Ukrainian Army.[9] One of the largest volunteer formations at that time was the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (known as DUK), which was formed by Right Sector after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.[10] Following the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022, the DUK expanded to six battalions and its units participated in the defense of key towns such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and many others.[11] In March 2022, the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps accepted the offer of the Ukrainian command and joined the Special Operations Forces (SSO) as the 7th Center of Volunteer Corps.[12]
In late November 2022, it was revealed that not all battalions had joined the SSO and instead had formed a new brigade within the structure of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the 67th Mechanized Brigade. The second battalion of DUK was reformed as the first battalion of the 67th Mechanized Brigade, and the sixth battalion became the 2nd battalion. The brigade also has its own tank and artillery unit.
During the defense of Chasiv Yar on April 6, 2024 the 2nd Rifle Battalion of 67th Mechanized Brigade lost both commander Serhiy Konoval and deputy commander Taras Petryshyn, of 2nd company of the battalion.
In February 2024, a portion of the Da Vinci Wolves Unit transferred from the 67th Mechanized Brigade to the 59th Motorized Brigade.[13]
On 14 April 2024, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces began disbanding the 67th Mechanized Brigade. One of the main reasons for the disbandment of the brigade was due to the unit losing some key positions in the fighting surrounding Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, where heavy fighting had been going on since early 2024. The unit specifically fought in the canal district of Chasiv Yar.[14] It has also been noted that the situation is being investigated and the military personnel who served in the brigade are being transferred to other Ukrainian military units.[15] One of the main issues within the brigade, according to official media Ukrainska Pravda, was that the leadership allegedly separated soldiers from the Right Sector from recruits who were transferred from other parts during recent replenishments.[13] The attitude towards these recruits were that they typically saw combat first, despite their lack of experience - leading to the brigade losing territory.[13] It was alleged that this was not the only reason for the brigade's combat capacity deficiencies - other reasons can be attributed to the failure and inability to reform Ukrainian volunteer units successfully into the official Ukrainian Armed Forces.[13]
As of April 2024, the brigade's structure was as follows: