30th Mechanized Brigade
(2016–present)

30th Guards Mechanized Brigade
(2004–2016)

30th Guards Tank Division
(1957–2004)

11th Guards Mechanised Division
(1945–1957)

13th Guards Cavalry Division
(1943–1945)

83rd Cavalry Division
(1941–1943)
Ukrainian: 30-та окрема механізована бригада імені князя Костянтина Острозького
30th Mechanized Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1 September 1941 – present
Country Soviet Union
(1941 – 6 Dec 1991)
 Ukraine
(6 Dec 1991 – present)
BranchGround Forces
TypeMechanized Infantry
SizeBrigade
Part ofOperational Command North
Garrison/HQZviahel
MUN A0409
PatronKonstanty Ostrogski
Motto(s)Dei Gratia
ColoursGarrison guidon:
EngagementsWorld War II
Cold War
War in Donbass
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner (removed)
Order of Suvorov 2nd Class Order of Suvorov (removed)
For Courage and Bravery
Battle honoursGuards (removed)
Novohrad-Volynskyi (removed)
Rivne (removed)
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Ihor Dovhan[4]
Notable
commanders		Pyotr Zubov
Mykhailo Mnyshenko
Petro Lytvyn

The 30th Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Mechanized Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The full name of the unit is 30th Independent Mechanized Brigade "Konstanty Ostrogski".[5]

Following the 2014 war in Donbas, the unit dropped all its Soviet decorations.

History

World War II

Between September 1 and October 1, 1941, the 83rd Cavalry Division was formed in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The division consisted of the following units:

  • 215th Cavalry Regiment
  • 226th Cavalry Regiment
  • 231st Cavalry Regiment
  • Separate Chemical Squadron

From September 5, 1941, the commanding officer of the division was Lieutenant General Selivanov.

On November 7, 1941, the division was sent to the Volga Military District where it was assigned to the newly forming Cavalry mechanized group of the 61st Army. Until December 28, 1941, the division was fortifying near the station of Lysi Gory Saratov Oblast.

The first battle that the division took part in was near the city of Ryazhsk, Ryazan Oblast as part of the Cavalry mechanized group of the 61st Army as part of the Bryansk Front and the Soviet winter counter offensive in front of Moscow. In January 1942 the division was assigned to the 7th Cavalry Corps and was assigned to be a Mobile Group in the Moscow Defense Zone for the 61st Army. The division remained with the 7th Cavalry Corps for the rest of 1942 and when the Corps was redesignated as the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps in January 1943 the division became the 13th Guards Cavalry Division on 19 January 1943.[6] The division was under the command of General Major Pyotr Zubov.[7]

The 13th Guards Cavalry Division fought at Dubno in 1944, as well as at the Battle of Debrecen and was with 6th Guards Cavalry Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945.

Cold War

Feskov et al. trace the unit's history as follows. At the beginning of June, the division relocated to Novohrad-Volynskyi. On 1 August 1945, the division was converted into the 11th Guards Mechanized Division. During November and December 1956, the division fought in the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. 44 soldiers of the division were killed during the campaign in Hungary. The division moved back to Novohrad-Volynskyi in January 1957.[8]

On 4 June 1957 it became the 30th Guards Tank Division,[9] part of the 8th Tank Army. In 1960, the division's 58th Separate Tank Training Battalion was disbanded. On 19 February 1962 the 335th Separate Missile Battalion and the 108th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion were activated. In 1968 the 151st Separate Guards Sapper Battalion became the 151st Separate Guards Engineer-Sapper Battalion. The 1043rd Separate Material Supply Battalion was created from the motor transport battalion in 1980. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 25% strength. In November 1990, the division was equipped with 224 T-72 main battle tanks.[9]

1990–present

The 30th Guards Tank Division, along with the rest of the 8th Tank Army and the Carpathian Military District, became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces according to the order of Ukraine About Armed Forces of Ukraine from December 6, 1991. In February 1992, all units of the division pledged their allegiance to Ukraine.

It was still designated a tank division as of Decree N 350/93 (August 21, 1993). On October 20, 1999, the division was awarded the Novohrad-Volynskyi designation. On July 30, 2004, the division was reformed into a brigade.

Currently the brigade is the only mechanized brigade that does not have any conscripts. It is also a part of Joint Rapid Reaction Forces. Over a hundred soldiers from the brigade have served in peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Iraq and Kosovo.[10]

A battalion of the brigade was part of POLUKRBAT in the 2006 rotation.[11] As of October 12, 2007, the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the brigade is deployed in Kosovo as part of the POLUKRBAT.[12]

The commander of the brigade served as a commander of the 5th Separate Mechanized brigade in Iraq.

War in Ukraine

War in Donbas

In the spring of 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the 30th mechanized brigade, one of the five brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine, which was manned at that time by contract soldiers and was sent to the south, including to the Berdiansk region, to protect against a possible invasion from Crimea.

Participated in the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine. In the summer of 2014, the brigade took part in the battles for Savur-Mohyla.

In 2015 the brigade took part in the Battle of Debaltseve during the war in Donbas.[13]

On 18 November 2015 the Soviet decorations of brigade's full name (30th Separate Guards Mechanized Novohrad-Volynskyi Rivne Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov Brigade) were removed, leaving the full name of 30th Separate Guards Mechanized Novohrad-Volynskyi Rivne Brigade.[5] On 22 August 2016, its Guards title was also removed.

As part of Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations on August 24, 2018, the brigade received the new honorific "Konstanty Ostrogski".

As of 1 March 2020, the brigade had lost 178 people during the war in Donbas.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 30th Mechanized Brigade participated in the 2022 Chornobaivka attacks against Russian positions through mortar strikes.[14]

From May 5-13th tanks from the 30th Mechanized Brigade repelled a river crossing by the Russian 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade near Dronivka.[15] This action was part of the wider Battle of the Siverskyi Donets that saw the destruction of 80 pieces of equipment and of the estimated 550 Russian servicemembers conducting the operation, 485 were casualties. The battle is considered one of the "deadliest single engagements" of the war at that point.[16]

By October 2022, the brigade was seen participating in operations during the Battle of Bakhmut.[17] The brigade has taken part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[18][19]

Order of battle

In 1960, the division included the following units.[9]

  • 276th Tank Regiment
  • 282nd Guards Tank Regiment
  • 325th Tank Regiment
  • 319th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Vysokaya Rech, Zhitomir Oblast)
  • 855th Guards Artillery Regiment
  • 937th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 54th Guards Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 151st Guards Sapper Battalion
  • 214th Guards Communications Battalion
  • 197th Chemical Defence Company (Vysokaya Rech, Zhitomir Oblast)
  • 112th Medical-Sanitary Company
  • Motor Transport Battalion

Division: 2003

  • 276th Armor Regiment
  • 325th Armor Regiment
  • 282nd Guards Armor Regiment
  • 319th Mechanized Regiment
  • 855th Guards Artillery Regiment
  • 937th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 214th Guards Signal Battalion
  • 54th Guards Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 151st Guards Combat Engineer Battalion
  • 108th Maintenance Battalion
  • 1043rd Combat Service Support Battalion
  • 112th Medical Battalion
  • 404th Chemical Battalion

Structure

As of 2017 the brigade's structure is as follows:

Awards

The brigade has received 22 orders, and 30 of its soldiers have been decorated with medals.[20]

Past commanders

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 30th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine).
  1. ↑ "Чорнобаївка-18. Українські мінометники ліквідували склад боєприпасів окупантів – відео". 2 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  3. ↑ Roscoe, Matthew (2022-10-25). "WATCH: Ukraine's 30th Mechanised Brigade dropping VOG-17 and F1 grenades on Russian positions". Euro Weekly News. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  4. ↑ "КРАЩІ ЧАСТИНИ ТА З'ЄДНАННЯ ЗБРОЙНИХ СИЛ УКРАЇНИ 2007 рік" [Best Units in the Armed Forces of Ukraine 2007] (PDF). Viysko Ukrainy (in Ukrainian) (12): 4. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Ukrainian President decree №646/2015".
  6. ↑ Red Sabers, Soviet Cavalry Corps, Divisions, and Brigades, 1941-1945, Charles C. Sharp
  7. ↑ "Biography of Major-General Petr Ivanovich Zubov". Generals.dk. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  8. 1 2 Trygub, Oleksiy (30 August 2011). "70 років гвардійської слави" [70 Years of Guards Fame]. Narodnaya Armia (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 Holm, Michael. "30th Guards Tank Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  10. ↑ "Міністр оборони України Анатолій Гриценко: "Ми беремо активну участь у миротворчій операції у Косовому і братимемо участь в ній і надалі. До тих пір, поки питання з приводу статусу Косового не буде вирішено остаточно на політичному рівні"" [Defense Minister of Ukraine Anatoly Hrytsenko: "We are actively engaged in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and will participate in it in the future until the question about the status of Kosovo is finally resolved at the political level "] (in Ukrainian). Press Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  11. 1 2 "У ході спільного командно-штабного тренування "Співдружність-2006" на Яворівському полігоні українські та польські офіцери узгодять дії спільного штабу "УкрПолбату" під час виконання завдань наступної ротації 2006 року" [In joint command and staff exercise "Commonwealth 2006" on Yavoriv training ground Ukrainian and Polish officers agree on joint action Staff "UkrPolbat" during the next rotation of assignments in 2006] (in Ukrainian). Press Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. 29 March 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  12. ↑ "З поверненням на Батьківщину 95 українських миротворців завершилася чергова – восьма – ротація національної складової спільного українсько-польського миротворчого батальйону "УкрПолбат" багатонаціональної тактичної групи "East" сил КФОР у Косовому" [Return home of 95 Ukrainian peacekeepers ends eighth rotation of national component of joint Ukrainian-Polish Peacekeeping Battalion Multinational Group East KFOR in Kosovo]. Press Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  13. ↑ New defensive line outside Artemivsk attacked by militants, deaths reported, Ukraine Today (May. 8, 2015)
    Traumas of soldiers becoming more visible after Debaltseve, Kyiv Post (March 6, 2015)
    Volunteer accuses separatists of killing more Ukrainian prisoners (AUDIO), Kyiv Post (May 1, 201)
  14. ↑ Katasonova, Yana (2 May 2022). "Чорнобаївка-18. Українські мінометники ліквідували склад боєприпасів окупантів – відео". LIGA.net (in Ukrainian).
  15. ↑ "Ukrainian Troops Destroy Russian Armored Unit Trying to Cross River". Newsweek. 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  16. ↑ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  17. ↑ Roscoe, Matthew (2022-10-25). "WATCH: Ukraine's 30th Mechanised Brigade dropping VOG-17 and F1 grenades on Russian positions". Euro Weekly News. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  18. ↑ https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/ukraine-aims-to-wear-down-and-outsmart-russian-army-distracted-by-infighting-kyiv-war-military-international-battle-lines-strategy-morale
  19. ↑ https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3734603-soldiers-of-30th-brigade-destroy-two-enemy-equipment-units-in-two-hours.html
  20. ↑ "Керівний склад військової частини" [Management of the military unit]. Lebedin.info (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  21. ↑ "Про присвоєння почесного найменування "Новоград-Волинсь...| від 20.10.1999 № 1356/99". Zakon1.rada.gov.ua. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
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