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81st Airmobile Brigade (Ukraine)

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81st Airmobile Brigade
81-ша окрема аеромобільна бригада
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Founded7 October 2014
Country Ukraine
Allegiance Armed Forces of Ukraine
Branch Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
RoleAir assault forces
Part of7th Rapid Response Corps
Garrison/HQKramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast
Motto(s)Born to win[1][2]
EngagementsWar in Donbas
Russian invasion of Ukraine
Decorations
For Courage and Bravery
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/81oaembr
Insignia
Flag

The 81st Separate Slobozhanska Airmobile Brigade (Ukrainian: 81-ша окрема аеромобільна Слобожанська бригада; 81 ОАеМБр)[4] is a brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces. The brigade fought in the war in Donbas and in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5][6]

History

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War in Donbas (2014–2022)

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The 81st Airmobile Brigade was formed on 7 October 2014 from elements of the 25th Airborne Brigade, the 80th Air Assault Brigade and the 95th Air Assault Brigade, and was initially headquartered in Kramatorsk.[1][2]

The brigade took part in the battle of the Donetsk airport for eighty days between November 2014 and January 2015,[1][2] and its soldiers were reportedly the last Ukrainian forces to retreat from the airport.[2] Units of the 81st Brigade were also among the Ukrainian forces encircled at Debaltseve.[2] A company tactical group of the brigade's 122nd Airmobile Battalion held the front line in the industrial zone of Avdiivka from mid-March 2015 until the end of July.[1]

In May 2015, the volunteer OUN Battalion became part of the brigade.[7]

On 9 June 2015, brigade Lieutenant Ivan Zubkov was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine posthumously for calling in artillery fire on himself during the battle at Donetsk Airport. The brigade's 90th Airmobile Battalion was named for Zubkov on 30 December of that year.[8]

Units of the 81st Brigade including the 90th Battalion held positions at Vodiane and Sieverne between August 2015 and March 2016.[1]

In January 2016, units of the brigade took part in combat at Zaitseve and later held the defense of Novhorodske.[2] Starting in December 2016, units of the 81st took part in combat at Svitlodarsk.[1][2]

Units of the brigade were assigned to Ukraine's southern operational-tactical group to conduct operations at Chaplynka in Kherson Oblast on the border with Crimea.[1]

Between July 2019 and March 2020, units of the brigade's 90th and 122nd Battalions were assigned to the 46th Airmobile Brigade.[1]

Russia–Ukraine war (2022–present)

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Operations in the Sumy Oblast

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Units of the brigade's 5th Battalion Tactical Group took part in combat with Russian forces in the city of Sumy on 24 February, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2]

Operations in the Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblasts

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By the end of February, the brigade's 90th Airmobile Battalion had taken up the defense of the city of Izium, which it held for about a month.[9][2] Afterwards, some units took up the defense of Oleksandrivka. On 30 April 2022, units of the brigade were withdrawn from the front line through Sviatohirsk.[9]

In July 2022, units of the brigade took part in combat near Sloviansk and Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk Oblast;[10][11] the 90th Battalion reportedly held the village of Dolyna [uk].[2] The 81st Brigade continued to operate in the Donetsk Oblast the next month.[12]

Operations in the Luhansk Oblast

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The brigade's 122nd Battalion took part in combat with Russian forces at Bilovodsk and Svatove in the Luhansk Oblast and later took up the defense of Sievierodonetsk, Rubizhne, and Lysychansk.[2]

In May 2022, units of the brigade took part in combat in the Luhansk Oblast,[13] including at Sievierodonetsk.[14] The brigade's 122nd Battalion has been credited with maintaining the defense of Sievierodonetsk, Rubizhne, and Lysychansk for eighty days, which reportedly restrained the Russian advance and gave other Ukrainian units time to prepare for offensive operations.[1]

2022 counteroffensive

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On 11 September 2022, amid an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, elements of the brigade raised the Ukrainian flag over the village of Bohorodychne, after having fought for it for more than three months.[15]

Over the course of the counteroffensive, after retaking Bohorodychne, units of the brigade were responsible for recapturing the settlements of Sviatohirsk and Yarova on 15 September.[16][1] Units of the 81st Brigade would go on to recapture Sosnove and Oleksandrivka.[16]

On 24 September, Russian military bloggers reported that units of the brigade had retaken half of the village of Novoselivka.[citation needed] By the 28th, it was reported that Novoselivka had been fully recaptured by elements of the 81st Brigade and the National Guard of Ukraine.[17] The brigade has also been credited with the recapture of Shandryholove.[2]

By the evening of 1 October 2022, the 81st Brigade had established control over the city of Lyman.[18] Units of the 81st Brigade entered the city from the direction of Drobysheve.[19] The brigade was involved in combat near the city later in the month.[20] It has been reported that units of the 81st took control of the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk Oblast in October 2022.[1]

During May 2023, units of the 81st Brigade were holding the front line in the Donetsk Oblast[21][22] on the Lyman front.[23]

Operations in Bilohorivka (2024–present)

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Units of the 81st Brigade were reportedly operating near Bilohorivka in the Luhansk Oblast during January 2024,[24] February 2024,[25][26] March 2024,[27][28] May 2024,[29][30][31] June 2024,[32][33] and August 2024.[34]

As of January 2025, units of the brigade's 1st Battalion were operating in the area of Bilohorivka.[35] Units of the 81st Brigade remained on the Siversk front in March,[36] June,[37] and July 2025.[37]

Structure

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As of 2024 the brigade's structure is as follows:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Нежигай, Ілля (10 October 2024). "Звільняли Донбас ще до 2022 року: чим відома 81 ОАеМБр, яка дає відсіч РФ на фронті". Факти (ICTV) [uk] (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Про бригаду". 81st Airmobile Brigade (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  3. ^ Крахматова, Діана; Члек, Крістіна (2023-01-28). ""Втримати Суми за будь-яку ціну". Як бійці 81-ї бригади розбили росіян під колишнім артучилищем". Suspilne (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  4. ^ "Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the ceremony dedicated to the Day of the Air Assault Forces". www.president.gov.ua. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  5. ^ a b c d e "81 окрема аеромобільна бригада". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  6. ^ "Russian forces pull out of Lyman, a key city in Ukraine's Donetsk region". MSN. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  7. ^ "Бійці батальйону "ОУН" стали розвідниками у складі ЗСУ". ТСН.ua. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  8. ^ "President confers name of Hero of Ukraine Ivan Zubkov to 90th battalion, 81st airborne brigade". Міністерство оборони України. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  9. ^ a b "Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers return from eastern front". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 1 May 2022. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  10. ^ Свиридович, Роман (8 July 2022). "Українські воїни знищили 12 танків під Святогірськом". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  11. ^ Дашківська, Ірина (16 July 2022). "Десантники та спецпризначенці "Омеги" знищили групу окупантів 18-ї кулеметно-артилерійської дивізії ЗС РФ під Слов'янськом". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Українські десантники знищили групу рашистів на Донеччині". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  13. ^ Янченкo, Володимир (12 May 2022). "На Луганщині боєць 81-ї ОАБр з ПЗРК "Stinger" збив вертоліт Mi–24 рашистів". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  14. ^ Русінко, Богдан (30 May 2022). "Штурмову групу окупантів розбито у Сєверодонецьку, в полон взято двох російських солдатів". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Залишилися руїни: Як виглядає Богородичне через рік після звільнення" (in Ukrainian). novosti.dn.ua. 14 September 2023.
  16. ^ a b Кириленко, Ольга (5 August 2024). "Битва за білі гори. Шо насправді відбувається в Білогорівці, яка практично не з'являється в новинах". Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  17. ^ Aditi Sangal; Adrienne Vogt; Tara Subramaniam; Sana Noor Haq; Hannah Strange; Mike Hayes (2022-09-28). "September 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news". CNN. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  18. ^ Свиридович, Роман (1 October 2022). "Населений пункт Лиман визволено та взято під контроль - воїни 81-ї ОАБр та батальйону ім. Кульчицького записали відео із центру міста". Цензор.нет. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  19. ^ Шепотько, Ілона (2024). "Відверта розмова (інтерв'ю із захисником)". In Кіріллова, М. М. (ed.). Я – майбутнє Донеччини: Обласний конкурс серед юних читачів (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Donetsk Oblast Children's Library [uk]. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Українські десантники ліквідували рашистів під Лиманом". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  21. ^ Янченко, Володимир (31 May 2023). "81-ша ОАеМБр отримала 3 пересувні авторемонтні майстерні та 5 лазне-пральних комплексів". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  22. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (6 May 2023). "Десантники на Донеччині нищать живу силу противника з ударних БПЛА". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  23. ^ Свиридович, Роман (27 May 2023). "Дякую за стійкість та результативність, - Зеленський відзначив кілька бригад, які відзначилися у боях 27 травня". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  24. ^ Янченко, Володимир (26 January 2024). "Бійці 81–ї ОАБр скидами з дронів ліквідують окупантів із загонів "Шторм Z" на Сіверському напрямку"". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  25. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (17 February 2024). "Українські десантники знищили 3 танки, 3 БМП та МТЛБ на Луганщині". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  26. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (24 February 2024). "Українські захисники знищили ворожу БМП разом з частиною десанту на Луганщині". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  27. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (3 March 2024). "Бійці 81 ОАеМБр розбили колону з 14 одиниць ворожої техніки під Білогорівкою". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  28. ^ Яковенко, Сергій (20 March 2024). "Бійці викурюють окупантів із нір протитанковими мінами ТМ-62". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  29. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (6 May 2024). "Воїни 81 ОАеМБр ліквідували окупанта". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  30. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (8 May 2024). "Окупанту відірвало ноги після влучання боєприпасу з дрона бійців 81 ОАМБр". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  31. ^ Яковенко, Сергій (28 May 2024). "Снайпери 81-ї ОАБр ліквідували трьох окупантів поблизу Білогорівки". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  32. ^ Яковенко, Сергій (7 June 2024). "Голову окупанта розриває після точного скиду боєприпаса з дрона". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  33. ^ Яковенко, Сергій (27 June 2024). "Росіянин застрелився в кущах на полі бою поблизу Білогорівки". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  34. ^ Шорохова, Ангеліна (22 August 2024). "Пряме влучання ударного безпілотника в російського загарбника на Луганщині". Цензор.нет (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  35. ^ Боцик, Галина (5 January 2025). "Воины 81 ОАэмбр ликвидировали российских захватчиков из батальона "Шторм" в районе Белогоровки". Цензор.нет (in Russian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  36. ^ Бедрик, Христина (27 March 2025). "Операторы дронов 81-й ОАэМБр довели до самоубийства оккупанта и ликвидировали нескольких его пособников". Цензор.нет (in Russian). Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  37. ^ a b Козлова, Діана; Коник, Андрій; Железняк, Ганна (9 July 2025). "ДРГ біля Покровська, бої поблизу Дніпропетровщини та тиск на Лиман. Фронт на Донеччині, Луганщині у липні". Suspilne (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 3 August 2025.
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