61st Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)

Ukrainian Ground Forces formation

61st Jager Infantry Brigade (2019–Present) 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade (2015–2019)
Ukrainian: 61-ша окрема механізована єгерська Степова бригада
61st Mechanized Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	10 November 2015 – present
Country	Ukraine
Allegiance	Ukrainian Ground Forces
Branch	Ground Forces
Type	Mechanized infantry Light infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	Operational Command North
Garrison/HQ	Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
Motto(s)	Freedom Forever
Engagements	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Commanders
Current commander	Col. Dmytro Ustilka

Military unit

The 61st Mechanized Brigade "Stepova" (Ukrainian: 61-ша окрема механізована бригада - formerly 61st Jaeger Brigade) is one of the youngest formations of the Mechanized Infantry of the Ukrainian 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 in Zhytomyr Oblast, it is one of the Ground Forces' specialized formations, whose role is to defend the forest lands of the north as well as the swampy terrain of the Pinsk Marshes, which are in the area of responsibility (AOR) of the brigade.

Brief history

The brigade, one of the youngest formations to be established in the Ground Forces as a result of the expansion of this service in light of the War in Donbass, 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 in Chernihiv, 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 the Operational Command North in Zhytomyr, 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 the Chief 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 specialized CBRN defense capability in the coming years.

The Jager (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 the German Army, the defunct Austro-Hungarian Army and in the former Imperial 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 of Ukraine’s fall 2022 counteroffensive.^[7]

Organization

61st Jaeger Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), Zhytomyr
- Headquarters & Headquarters Company, Zhytomyr
- 99th Rifle Battalion (Mech)
- 100th Rifle Battalion (Mech)
- 101st Rifle Battalion (Mech)
- 35th Rifle Battalion (Mot)
- 61st Tank Battalion
- 61st Brigade Field Artillery Regiment (Light)
  - Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery
  - Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (2S1 Gvozdika)
  - Field Howitzer Artillery Battalion
  - Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (BM-21 Grad/RM-70)
  - Anti-tank Artillery Battalion (MT-12 Rapira)
- 61st Brigade Air Defense Missile Artillery Battalion (Light)
- Combat Engineer Battalion
- Maintenance Battalion
- Logistics Battalion
- Reconnaissance Company
- Sniper Company
- 61st UAV Battalion
- Electronic Warfare Company
- Signal Company
- Radar Company
- CBRN-defense Company
- Medical Company
- MP Platoon
- Brigade Band

References

^ "На Чернігівщині військові атакували і захищалися" (in Ukrainian). 25 May 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^ "Для війни в північних лісах: в ЗСУ створили єгерську бригаду". Новинарня (in Ukrainian). 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
^ Ponomarenko, Illia (May 13, 2019). "Ukrainian army launches new light infantry brigade". Kyiv Post.
^ "Ukrainian army forms its first Jager brigade". Janes.com.
^ "Нова єгерська бригада оборонятиме північні кордони". ukrmilitary.com. Ukrainian Military Pages. 2019-05-12. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
^ "З нагоди Дня ЗСУ Глава держави присвоїв звання Героя України, вручив бойові прапори, почесні найменування та стрічки почесної відзнаки Президента". www.mil.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 2022-12-06.
^ ^a ^b Axe, David. "Ukraine's 61st Brigade Has Powerful RM-70 Rocket-Launchers—And It's Still Waiting To Join The Counteroffensive". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-06-18.

Presidential
3rd Assault
5th Assault
10th Mountain Assault
11th Motorized
13th Jaeger
14
15
21
22
23
24
28
30
31
32
33
41
42
43
44
47
53
54
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
65
66
67
68th Jaeger
72
88
92nd Assault
93
100
110
115
116
117
118
128th Mountain Assault
141st Infantry
142nd Infantry
143rd Infantry
144th Infantry
150
151
152
153
154
155 Infantry
156 Infantry
157 Infantry
158 Infantry
159 Infantry

Artillery

26
38
40
43
44
45
47
48
49
55
Reconnaissance
- 15
Missile
- 19
Rocket
- 27
- 107

Tank

Engineering

47th
48th
49th Assault Engineering
704th CBRN Protection

Regiments

Tank	300th Training
Mechanized	354 Training 355 Training
Anti-Aircraft Missile	38 39 1039 1121 1129
Artillery	356 Training
Engineering	Operational Support 12 16 70 91 703 Maintenance 31 50 145 146 532 Pontoon bridge 210 808
Signal	5 7 55 121

Battalions

Motorized Infantry	1st Assault 1 2 3 3rd Mechanized 4 6 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24th Assault 25 25th Assault 33rd Assault 34 40 42 43rd Territorial Defense 46th Assault 48th Assault 49th Assault 97th Mechanized 108th Assault 117th Assault 214th OPFOR 225th Assault 425th Assault
Tank	12
Mountain	8 15 108 109
Reconnaissance	54 74 120 129 130 131 143
Rifle	1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 50 51 52 (Airmobile) 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 210th Special Purpose 211th Special Purpose 403 405 407 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 451 Infantry 452 Infantry 453 Infantry 454 Infantry 455 Infantry 456 Infantry 457 Infantry 459 460 468
Engineering	308 309 310 311 321 507 534 Pontoon bridge 11
Electronic Warfare	20 520
Others	78 181 182 183 224 225 226 227 307 718