2023 counteroffensive

On June 8, 2023, the 47th Mechanized Brigade engaged in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive and suffered heavy material losses.^[11][12] On July 11, 2023, headmaster sergeant Valerii Markus, who had met with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of June, complained about the decisions of the unit's command regarding lack of interest in soldiers morale and officers incompetence.^[13]

Intense clashes occurred near the hamlet of Robotyne, as it held a vital position in the Russian defensive front. The village endured significant damage and population loss throughout the battles.^[14][15][16] The 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade was the first Ukrainian unit to enter the village on July 22, 2023. That same day, Dimytro Rybakov, the Brigade's commander, was killed in combat toward the Melitopol axis.^[17]

47th Brigade Panthera T6

47th Brigade M-55S 02

In late July, the BBC visited the 47th Mechanized Brigade, which was fighting in "southern Ukraine". General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said that the number of minefields meant that the advance must be undertaken by soldiers and not armored units. A repair workshop had a dozen vehicles being repaired, mostly M2 Bradleys. The BBC team also traveled around the southern front and saw Mastiff armored vehicles, supplied by Britain, damaged and destroyed. The 47th has used its older Soviet-era equipment, such as the T-64 tank to clear minefields. These tanks are fitted with rollers to try and detonate landmines. However, Russian mines are being stacked on top of each other. One T-64 commander said that a roller was destroyed after one explosion when typically it could withstand four explosions. Russian forces had started to leave trenches abandoned but filled with remote-controlled mines. Once Ukrainian forces entered the trench, there was an immediate explosion.^[18]

On August 17, 2023, near Robotyne, one of the members of the brigade used a Swedish RBS-70 MANPAD to shoot down a Russian Ka-52 Alligator helicopter, reportedly killing one of the crew members. It was the first visible confirmation of Ukraine employing this system in combat.^[19] After a month of intense fighting, on August 23, 2023, they unfurled the Ukrainian flag on the ruins of a local school,^[20] marking the capture of Robotyne and subsequently organized the evacuation of the remaining civilians.^{[21][22][23][16]}

As of September 2023, the brigade had suffered around 2,000 casualties out of its initial complement of 5,000.^[24]

On 16 September 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Sak was removed from command and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Pavlii.^[3]

Avdiivka

Around mid October, the brigade was pulled from the southern front and transferred to reinforce the defense against Russian forces in the Battle of Avdiivka.^[25][26][27] The following month, the unit was visited by Spanish newspaper El País. At the time, it was defending the railway lines north of Avdiivka to avoid the encirclement of the city. Casualties were said to be high on both sides, with a platoon leader reporting 17 killed and missing in action. According to the same officer, his Russian opponents were "superior in everything except in training". The commander of a Paladin howitzer complained that he could only shoot 15 shells per day, compared with 100 to 150 per day during the summer counteroffensive, and that his gun's error margin had grown from 7 to 70 meters due to wear.^[28]