47.ª Brigada Mecanizada

El 8 de junio de 2023, la 47.ª Brigada Mecanizada participó en la contraofensiva ucraniana de 2023 y sufrió grandes pérdidas materiales . ^{[ 12 ] [ 13 ]} El 11 de julio de 2023, el sargento mayor Valerii Markus, quien se había reunido con el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a finales de junio, se quejó de las decisiones del mando de la unidad con respecto a la falta de interés en la moral de los soldados y la incompetencia de los oficiales. ^{[ 14 ]}

Se produjeron intensos enfrentamientos cerca de la aldea de Robotyne , ya que ocupaba una posición vital en el frente defensivo ruso. La aldea sufrió daños significativos y una importante pérdida de población durante las batallas. ^{[ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ]} La 47.ª Brigada Mecanizada fue la primera unidad ucraniana en entrar en la aldea el 22 de julio de 2023. Ese mismo día, Dimytro Rybakov, comandante de la 47.ª Brigada Mecanizada, murió en combate en dirección al eje de Melitopol. Rybakov también era un conocido periodista y comentarista económico. ^{[ 18 ]}

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.^[19]

On August 17, 2023, near Robotyne, one of the members of the brigade used a Swedish RBS-70MANPAD 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.^[20] After a month of intense fighting, on August 23, 2023, they unfurled the Ukrainian flag on the ruins of a local school,^[21] marking the capture of Robotyne and subsequently organized the evacuation of the remaining civilians.^{[22][23][24][17]}

As of September 2023, the brigade had suffered around 2,000 casualties out of its initial complement of 5,000.^[25]

On 16 September 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Sak was removed from command and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Pavlii.^[5]

Around mid-October 2023, the brigade was pulled from the southern front and transferred to reinforce the defense against Russian forces in the battle of Avdiivka.^{[26][27][28][29]}

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, reportedly, one Ukrainian casualty for three Russian.^[30] A platoon leader reporting 17 killed and missing in action. The same officer also claimed that his Russian opponents were "superior in everything except in training". The commander of a Paladinhowitzer 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.^[31] A squad leader declared having lost all his 17 men while another company lost 65 out of a total of 80 soldiers, with casualties are claimed to be comparable to those of the Russians.^[30]

On December 28, near Stepove, in repelling an attack by a Russian reinforced battalion of 500 troops, the brigade allegedly killed half of them and destroyed 21 enemy tanks and 14 IFV/APCs. Reportedly, the brigade lost only two tanks abandoned in return.^[32] Colonel Pavili was dismissed the following month, and replaced by Lt. Col. Dmitro Riumshin.^[30]

On February 23, 2024, the brigade published a video that showed, for the first time, an M1A1 Abrams in combat operation in Ukraine. Two days later, the Russians published a video of the first-ever M1A1 Abrams destroyed in Ukraine.^[33] By April 20, five of the brigade's 31 Abrams had been destroyed and three others moderately damaged, mainly by first-person-view drones.^[34]

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Syrskyi publicly praised the 47th Brigade in March 2024 for its efforts in repelling Russian attacks on the villages of Berdychi and Orlivka.^[35] On March 10, 2024, the commander of the brigade, Ryumshin, was replaced by Col. Yan Yatsishen.^[36] The latter is the fourth commander so far.^[30]

El País on April 22, 2024 reported the brigade was in dire straits due to ammunition and equipment shortages; in one company, for instance, there remained only two Bradley vehicles in operation out of its initial eleven.^[30]

Around April 20, the brigade was pulled back from the front line east of Ocheretyne to rest and resupply. However, coordination with the replacing unit, the 115th Mechanized Brigade, failed and the Russian 30th Motor Rifle Brigade took advantage of the opportunity to advance swiftly on Ocheretyne.^[37] The 47th was sent back to the fight, could not avoid the fall of the town but prevented the Russians from widening the salient. Forbes reported the brigade was 2,000 strong at the time and had lost at least 40 of its roughly 200 M2 IFV and five of its 31 M1A1 tanks.^[11]

On May 28, the brigade repelled a Russian attack near Novopokrovske.^[9] On June 26, the brigade was commended by the General Staff for "bravely hold[ing] their positions" at an unspecified location.^[8]

On July 7, the unit was reported by Spanish analysts to be back to the Avdiivka sector.^[38]

On August 31, Forbes reported that the brigade had lost around half of the 31 M1 Abrams it had in operation six months earlier. For the entire summer it had been defending the front between Avdiivka and Pokrovsk, trying to slow down the Russian offensive.^[39]

After a short respite after its service in the Avdiivka–Pokrovsk area, the entirety of the 47th Brigade was redeployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast in late September 2024, as part of the Ukrainian operation in the region.^[40][41] By mid-October, it was reported that the brigade was operating near the village of Zelyonyy Shlyakh, on the left flank of the group of Ukrainian forces in Kursk.^[42]

It was reported in late October 2024 that units of the brigade, including its 130th Mechanized Battalion, had conducted a new breakthrough along the Russia-Ukraine border at the village of Novyy Put in the Glushkovo District of the Kursk Oblast, and had seized Russian positions.^[43][44]

As of January 2025, units of the 47th Brigade were reportedly defending the village of Nikolskii along with units of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, as part of Ukraine's operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast.^[45] During the next month, the brigade was still operating near Nikolskii.^[46]

On May 17, the unit's battalion commander, Oleksandr Shyrshyn, resigned from his post, criticizing the command for "stupid objectives" and unnecessary casualties.^[47] According to Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov, the resignation was due to poorly organized assaults on the village of Tyotkino.^[48]

In September 2025, 26-year-old Maxim Oleksandrovitch Daniiltchuk was appointed as commander of the brigade.