| 128th Mountain Assault Brigade (2018–present) 128th Mountain Brigade 128th Guards Mountain Brigade 128th Guards Mechanized Brigade 128th Guards Mechanized Division 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division 128th Guards Mountain Rifle Division 83rd Mountain Rifle Division 1st Turkmenistan Rifle Division (1922–1935) | |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian:128-ма окрема гвардійська гірсько-штурмова Закарпатська бригада | |
 128th Mountain Brigade shoulder sleeve patch | |
| Active | 12 July 1922 – present |
| Country |  Soviet Union(Jul 1922 – Jan 1992)  Ukraine(Jan 1992 – present) |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Type | Assault Infantry |
| Role | Mountain Warfare |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Operational Command West |
| Garrison/HQ | Mukachevo[1] MUN А1778 |
| Mottos | "For Ukraine, for her freedom." |
| Anniversaries | July 12 |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner (2) (removed).svg)  For Courage and Bravery |
| Battle honours | Guards (removed) Turkestan (removed) Zakarpattia |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Dmytro Lysyuk[11] |
| Notable commanders | Serhiy Tumoshkov (1st Commander) |
| Insignia | |
| Banner of the Brigade(before 2013) |  |
The128th Mountain Assault Brigade is a formation of theUkrainian Ground Forces.
The full title of the brigade is 128th Mountain Assault Brigade "Zakarpattia", (Ukrainian:128-ма окрема гірсько-штурмова Закарпатська бригада).[12] It is the second oldest serving formation of the UGF, being raised in 1922. It participated in the invasions ofHungary andCzechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
The 128th Mechanized Division was first formed within the thenUSSR'sRed Army as the 1st Turkmenistan Rifle Division on 12 July 1922 in the city ofPoltoratsk (now Ashgabat,Turkmenistan). (Other sources give the original name as the 1st Turkmenistan Mountain Division).[13] It was a Turkmen national formation. Serhiy Tumoshkov became the division's first commander. The division was renamed 83rd Mountain Rifle Division on 1 July 1935.[14] On 22 June 1941 the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division was part of the 58th Rifle Corps,Central Asia Military District.[15] Between 1 September and 1 October 1941, the division was assigned to the53rd Army, still located within the Central Asia Military District.[16] By January 1942 the division, still with 58th Rifle Corps, had been dispatched toIran as part of theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
From 1 January 1943 the division fought near the area ofKrasnodar where it was assigned to the56th Army. After successfully liberating the region ofKuban and theTaman Peninsula, the division was awarded theGuards designation on 8 October 1943 and renamed the 128th Guards Turkmenistan Rifle Division.[1]
On 24 April 1944, for participation in the battles forCrimea, the division was awarded its firstOrder of the Red Banner. During the month of August, the division participated in battles for theCarpathian Mountains. The division captured Northeast Hungary, what later becameZakarpattya in the Soviet Union, and on 12 October 1944 crossed the border withCzechoslovakia. Units of the division occupiedOstrava,Olomouc and other cities.[1]
Postwar, the division was stationed in Mukacheve and became part of the38th Army. During October and November 1956, it took part in Operation Whirlwind, the crushing of theHungarian Revolution of 1956. The division capturedDebrecen andSzolnok andJászberény. Advancing westward, it participated in the storming ofBudapest. On 15 December 1956, the division became the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division atEsztergom. In July 1958, the division was moved back toMukacheve. In 1968, the division participated inOperation Danube, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. During the operation, eleven soldiers of the division were killed.[17] In May 1976, it was granted the honorific title "Marshal of the Soviet UnionAndriy Hrechko". In December 1979, its 149th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was transferred to the201st Motor Rifle Division and replaced by the newly activated 487th Motor Rifle Regiment. On 8 May 1985 the division was awarded its secondOrder of the Red Banner in honour of the 40th anniversary ofVictory Day.[18]
In January 1992, the division was taken over by Ukraine.[19] On 31 December 1992, in Decree 642/92, the President of Ukraine promoted the commander of the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Carpathian Military District, ColonelVyacheslav Zabolotny [uk], to Major-General.[20]
In accordance with a decree of 23 August 1998, ColonelOleksandr Maslenchuk – commander of the 128th Mechanised Division of the38th Army Corps of theOperational Command West; was promoted to major-general.[21]
On 27 May 2000 theMinister of Defense,General of the ArmyOleksandr Kuzmuk presented the division its new Battle Colours, and read the Order of the President of Ukraine awarding the division the honorable name "Zakarpattia".[18]
Until 2002, the division was under the command of the 38th Army Corps.[22] After the 38th Army Corps was disbanded, the division became part of the 13th Corps.
On 18 June 2004 the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division was reorganized into a brigade by the order of the Minister of Defense.[18]
In 2013, the brigade became the 128th Mountain Brigade.
In 2014–15 the brigade fought in thewar in Donbas, taking part in theBattle of Debaltseve. For his leadership in the Battle of Debaltseve, brigade commander ColonelSerhiy Shaptala was awarded the titleHero of Ukraine.
The brigade has a training ground near the city ofVynohradiv.
On 18 November 2015, the brigade's honorifics "Turkestan twice Red Banner" were removed as part of an Armed Forces-wide removal of Soviet awards and honorifics.[23] The "Zakarpattia" battle honor, awarded for the liberation of the area in 1945, remained. On 22 August 2016, its Guards title was also removed.[24]
A base belonging to the 128th Brigade was bombarded as part of the initial Russian strikes on military targets on24 February 2022. The brigade abandoned its base and was deployed to the vicinity ofMelitopol. It was eventually pushed 70 miles to the north, where it took up positions to prevent Russian forces from reaching the city ofZaporizhzhia, as of April 2022.[25]
Abattalion tactical group of the 128th Brigade under Col.Denys Chaiuk [uk] was at training grounds inDnipropetrovsk Oblast at the beginning of the war. It traveled 200 km in order to reachMelitopol by the next day, covering the retreat of units of theNational Guard of Ukraine from the city. It later withdrew to theVasylivka-Tokmak defensive line, and eventually to a defensive line atKam'yanske-Orikhiv where it successfully halted the Russian offensive.[26]
In April 2022, units of the brigade took part in the fighting in the Luhansk region. On 7 April, it was announced that soldiers of the brigade had pushed Russian troops 6-10 kilometers away from Kreminna.[4]
The brigade took part in the2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.[27] In the brigade's nativeZakarpattia Oblast on 2 September 2022, aday of mourning was held after the deaths of seven residents of the region who served in the brigade.[28] During the southern counteroffensive, the brigade recapturedMyroliubivka on 3 October 2022,[27] followed by a string of villages on the right bank of theDnieper River.[29] This was part ofan October offensive operation conducted by one of the 128th Brigade's battalions, along with a battalion of Ukraine's60th Brigade, which forced Russian troops to retreat from parts of theKherson Oblast west of theDnieper River towards the villages ofDudchany andMylove.[30]
On 18 February 2023PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the brigade was operating and fighting inZaporizhzhia Oblast.[31]
Lysiuk, the brigade's commander, confirmed toThe Guardian in mid-October 2023 that the brigade was still fighting in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.[11] On 3 November 2023 a Russian strike killed members of the brigade while on a ceremony on the occasion of Rocket Forces and Artillery Day, on 5 NovemberUkrainian MPOleksiy Kucherenko reported that 28 soldiers had been killed and 53 others wounded.[32] Three days of mourning were held in Zakarpattia Oblast.[33] On 6 November the 128th Brigade itself confirmed the deaths of 19 soldiers in the strike.[34] Lysiuk, who arrived late to the ceremony and was uninjured, was suspended from his position while authorities opened an investigation.[35]
As of 2024, the brigade's structure is as follows:[36]
1st Mountain Assault Infantry Battalion "Lynx"
2nd Mountain Assault Infantry Battalion
Motorized Infantry Battalion "Bears"
1st Rifle Infantry Battalion
2nd Rifle Infantry Battalion
15th Separate Mountain Assault Infantry Battalion,Uzhhorod
Target Acquisition Battery "Mavic Band"
Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion "Cerberus" (2S1 Gvozdika)
Rocket Artillery Battalion (BM-21 Grad)
Anti-Tank Battalion (MT-12 Rapira)
534th Separate Combat Engineer Battalion (Mountain)
Divisional Headquarters,Uzhhorod
315th Mechanized Regiment,Berehove
327th Mechanized Regiment, Uzhhorod
820th Mechanized Regiment,Mukachevo
398th Armor RegimentUzhorod, Uzhhorod
331st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment,Perechyn
47th Reconnaissance BattalionThe 327th Mechanized Regiment[37] was reorganized to form the 15th Mountain Infantry Battalion, which became the first Mountain Infantry formation in the currentUkrainian Ground Forces.
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1Unless stated otherwise, the brigade is mechanized. | |||||||||||||||||
