The full title of the brigade is 128th Mountain Assault Brigade "Zakarpattia", (Ukrainian: 128-ма окрема гірсько-штурмова Закарпатська бригада).[12] It is the second oldest serving formation of the UGF, being raised in 1922. It participated in the invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
History
Red Army
The 128th Mechanized Division was first formed within the then USSR's Red Army as the 1st Turkmenistan Rifle Division on 12 July 1922 in the city of Poltoratsk (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan). (Other sources give the original name as the 1st Turkmenistan Mountain Division).[13] It was a Turkmen national formation. Serhiy Tumoshkov became the division's first commander. The division was renamed 83rd Mountain Rifle Division on 1 July 1935.[14] On 22 June 1941 the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division was part of the 58th Rifle Corps, Central Asia Military District.[15] Between 1 September and 1 October 1941, the division was assigned to the 53rd Army, still located within the Central Asia Military District.[16] By January 1942 the division, still with 58th Rifle Corps, had been dispatched to Iran as part of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
From 1 January 1943 the division fought near the area of Krasnodar where it was assigned to the 56th Army. After successfully liberating the region of Kuban and the Taman Peninsula, the division was awarded the Guards designation on 8 October 1943 and renamed the 128th Guards Turkmenistan Rifle Division.[1]
On 24 April 1944, for participation in the battles for Crimea, the division was awarded its first Order of the Red Banner. During the month of August, the division participated in battles for the Carpathian Mountains. The division captured Northeast Hungary, what later became Zakarpattya in the Soviet Union, and on 12 October 1944 crossed the border with Czechoslovakia. Units of the division occupied Ostrava, Olomouc and other cities.[1]
Postwar, the division was stationed in Mukacheve and became part of the 38th Army. During October and November 1956, it took part in Operation Whirlwind, the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The division captured Debrecen and Szolnok and Jászberény. Advancing westward, it participated in the storming of Budapest. On 15 December 1956, the division became the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division at Esztergom. In July 1958, the division was moved back to Mukacheve. In 1968, the division participated in Operation Danube, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. During the operation, eleven soldiers of the division were killed.[17] In May 1976, it was granted the honorific title "Marshal of the Soviet Union Andriy Hrechko". In December 1979, its 149th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was transferred to the 201st Motor Rifle Division and replaced by the newly activated 487th Motor Rifle Regiment. On 8 May 1985 the division was awarded its second Order of the Red Banner in honour of the 40th anniversary of Victory Day.[18]
Independent Ukraine
In January 1992, the division was taken over by Ukraine.[19] On 31 December 1992, in Decree 642/92, the President of Ukraine promoted the commander of the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Carpathian Military District, Colonel Vyacheslav Zabolotny [uk], to Major-General.[20]
Until 2002, the division was under the command of the 38th Army Corps.[22] After the 38th Army Corps was disbanded, the division became part of the 13th Corps.
On 18 June 2004 the 128th Guards Motor Rifle Division was reorganized into a brigade by the order of the Minister of Defense.[18]
In 2013, the brigade became the 128th Mountain Brigade.
The brigade has a training ground near the city of Vynohradiv.
On 18 November 2015, the brigade's honorifics "Turkestan twice Red Banner" were removed as part of an Armed Forces-wide removal of Soviet awards and honorifics.[23] The "Zakarpattia" battle honor, awarded for the liberation of the area in 1945, remained. On 22 August 2016, its Guards title was also removed.[24]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
A base belonging to the 128th Brigade was bombarded as part of the initial Russian strikes on military targets on 24 February 2022. The brigade abandoned its base and was deployed to the vicinity of Melitopol. It was eventually pushed 70 miles to the north, where it took up positions to prevent Russian forces from reaching the city of Zaporizhzhia, as of April 2022.[25]
In April 2022, the brigade took part in the defense of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting in the Luhansk region. On 7 April, it was announced that soldiers of the brigade had pushed Russian troops 6-10 kilometers away from Kreminna.[4]
On 18 February 2023 PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the brigade was operating and fighting in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.[30] The brigade's commander Colonel Dmytro Lysyuk confirmed to The Guardian in mid-October 2023 that the brigade was still fighting in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, taking part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[11] On 3 November 2023 a Russian strike killed members of the brigade while on a ceremony on the occasion of Rocket Forces and Artillery Day, on 5 November Ukrainian MPOleksiy Kucherenko reported that 28 soldiers had been killed and 53 others wounded.[31] Three days of mourning were held in Zakarpattia Oblast.[32] On 6 November the 128th Brigade itself confirmed the deaths of 19 soldiers in the strike.[33] Lysiuk, who arrived late to the ceremony and was uninjured, was suspended from his position while authorities opened an investigation.[34]
The 327th Mechanized Regiment[36] was reorganized to form the 15th Mountain Infantry Battalion, which became the first Mountain Infantry formation in the current Ukrainian Ground Forces.
19 soldiers and sergeants were awarded the Order of Glory.
3 personnel were awarded state decorations for valour in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and so far 1 awarded the Gold Star Medal as a Hero of Ukraine (for actions in war in Donbas).
^УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ No. 646/2015 [Ukaz President of Ukraine No. 646/2015] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
^УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ No.344/2016 [Ukaz of the President of Ukraine No. 344/2016] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
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