| 61st Mechanized Infantry Brigade (2022–present) 61st Jager Infantry Brigade (2019–22) 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade (2015–19) | |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian:61-ша окрема механізована єгерська бригада "Степова" | |
 61st Mechanized Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 10 November 2015 – present |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Allegiance |  Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Type |  Mechanized InfantryLight Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Operational Command North |
| Garrison/HQ | Zhytomyr,Zhytomyr Oblast |
| Motto | Freedom Forever |
| Engagements | Russian invasion of Ukraine |
The61st Mechanized Brigade "Stepova" (Ukrainian:61-ша окрема механізована бригада - formerly 61st Jaeger Brigade) is a formations of the Mechanized Infantry of theUkrainian Ground Forces, raised in 2015 as the 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade (61-ша окрема мотопіхотна бригада) of the Ukrainian Ground Forces' 4th Army Reserve Corps. Based inZhytomyr Oblast, it was one of the Ground Forces' specialized formations, whose role was to defend the forest lands of the north as well as the swampy terrain of thePinsk Marshes, which were in thearea of responsibility (AOR) of the brigade.
The brigade was raised in 2015 first as a reserve motorized formation of the Ground Forces Command, which would later be transferred in 2017-18 as part of the 4th Army Reserve Corps, with its first brigade HQ and garrison based inChernihiv,Chernihiv Oblast.[1] At first, the brigade was a motorized infantry unit with its own artillery regiment and 3 battalions, each former territorial defense battalions.
On 25 April 2019, the formation, in compliance with a directive from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces General Headquarters, left the reserves and was placed with its new designation as a light infantry unit under theOperational Command North inZhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast.[2][3] The majority of the servicemen of the brigade are personnel under contract service within the Ground Forces, many of them coming from the territory of the oblast and from the forested sectors within the brigade's AOR. They are thus equipped for forest and swamp warfare operations within its vicinity, especially in the Belarusian and Russian borders and in the swamplands of Pripyat in the north, working with personnel of theChief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Special Operations Forces, as well as the State Border Service.[4][5] It is the terrain of the AOR of this brigade, which cannot be traversed by mechanized vehicles, that makes the brigade's duties all the more important in this part of Ukraine. Since parts of the AOR have had been covered by the Chernobyl excursion zone the brigade is planned to be also embarked in a specializedCBRN defense capability in the coming years.
TheJager (Ukrainian:єгерська) designation of the brigade, the first Ukrainian unit to bear this title after more than a century, is of German origin in the same-named light infantry formations of theGerman Army, the defunctAustro-Hungarian Army and in the formerImperial Russian Army, which stationed such units in the past in the Kyiv and Odesa Military Districts.
In 2022, the infantry brigade was mechanized from being a light motorized unit.[6] Amongst other things, it gained RM-70 rocket-launchers from the Czech Republic.[7] The brigade fought on the southern front ofUkraine’s fall 2022 counteroffensive.[7]
The 61st Mechanized Brigade took part inthe Ukrainian operation in Russia'sKursk Oblast from 6 August 2024.[8] On 9 August, the brigade's 99th Battalion published a video fromSudzha, claiming that the town had come under Ukrainian control.[9] The brigade was still operating in Kursk as of February 2025.[10]
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1Unless stated otherwise, the brigade is mechanized. | |||||||||||||||||
