| 28th Mechanized Brigade (2016–present) 28th Guards Mechanized Brigade (2001–2016) 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1957–2001) 28th Guards Rifle Division (1942–1957) | |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian:28-ма окрема механізована бригада | |
.svg) 28th Mechanized Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1942–present |
| Country |  Soviet Union(1930s–1991)  CIS (1991–1992) Ukraine(1992–present) |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Type |  Mechanized Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Operational Command South |
| Garrison/HQ | Chornomorske[1] Odesa Oblast,Ukraine |
| Patron | Knights of theFirst Winter Campaign[2] |
| Mottos | With Will and Iron |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | .svg) For Courage and Bravery |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Yuriy Madyar |
| Notable commanders | Vitalii Huliaiev (2021-22) †[4] |
The28th Mechanized Brigade (Ukrainian:28-ма окрема механізо́вана брига́да імені Лицарів Зимового Походу) is amechanized brigade and part of the formation of theUkrainian Ground Forces.[5]
The original 28th Guards Rifle Division was formed during the Second World War from the180th Rifle Division in May 1942. The division fought atKharkiv andIași. It was with the37th Army in Bulgaria in May 1945. During the 1980s, the then 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division was part of the14th Guards Army headquartered atChișinău, in theMoldavian SSR (Odesa Military District). Afterthe fall of the Soviet Union it became part of the reorganised Ukrainian 6th Army Corps. After the6th Army Corps was disbanded in 2013, the brigade became part ofOperational Command South.[citation needed]
The brigade fought in thewar in Donbas.[6] On 22 August 2016, its Guards title was removed.[7] On 22 August 2019 by decree ofPresidentVolodymyr Zelensky the official name of the brigade became:28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of theFirst Winter Campaign.[2]
The brigade took part in the defense of Ukraine during theRussian invasion of Ukraine on thesouthern front. According to the chairman of the Public Council at the Odesa Regional State Administration Serhiy Bratchuk, the Russians tried to conduct a maritime and air landing inKobleve [uk] on the Black Sea coast of the Mykolaiv area. As a result of the brigade, the Russians' attempt to land was stopped, and they retreated, losing up to 25 soldiers. Two more saboteurs were detained in the village of Kobleve.[8][9] After the defense of Kobleve, elements of the 28th Brigade took part in thedefense of Voznesensk.[10]
The brigade defended theOleksandrivka andPosad-Pokrovske sectors of the front line betweenKherson andMykolaiv throughout 2022.[11][12] On July 23, 2022, the commander of the brigade,Vitalii Huliaiev, was killed in Mykolaiv region.[13]
On 10 November, the 28th Brigade reportedly capturedKyselivka.[14] Two days later, on the 12th of November, elements of the brigade were seen enteringKherson as part of the liberation of the city during thesouthern offensive.[citation needed]
Elements of the brigade were also present in thebattle of Bakhmut as of February 2023, with servicemen interviewed byCNN[15] and portrayed byThe New Yorker.[16] Between November 2022 and January 2023, a battalion of the 28th Mechanized Brigade numbering 600 men was reported to had been almost annihilated fighting in a village south ofBakhmut, with around 70 soldiers said to have been encircled and massacred in one incident.[17]
The Brigade's artillery battalion has been observed usingM109A4BE self-propelled howitzers[18] to provide supporting fire to other elements of the 28th Brigade fighting in and around the city ofKostiantynivka as of August 2025 byUnited24.[19]
The drone reconnaissance unit "Madyar's Birds", led byRobert "Madyar" Brovdi was absorbed into the brigade at some point during the war.[20]
As of 2024, the brigade's structure was as follows:
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1Unless stated otherwise, the brigade is mechanized. | |||||||||||||||||
