The Kyiv Post stated that the Ukrainian military has never acknowledged the existence of the unit and reinforced Forbes reporting that the unit would consist of "about half of [the Ukrainian military's] best NATO-delivered infantry armored vehicles". They stated that whenever the unit sees combat, despite their western equipment and training, they would still be a "green formation fighting together as a unit for the first time."[5]
On 21 June, 2023, the first Challenger 2s were seen in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the only brigade reported to have Challenger 2s is the 82nd Airborne. However, there has been no mention of the units involvement in the counteroffensive so far.[6] This has led the Kyiv Post to speculate that the 82nd is a deception formation, meant to mask the real recipient of the Challenger 2s.[7] On June 14, the Asia Times reported that the Brigade's artillery units were drawn from strategic reserves to assist on the Velyka Novosilka front.[8]
On June 22, Forbes assessed that the 82nd, and the 117th Mechanized Brigade were being held in reserve waiting for a significant breach in Russian lines to allow them to storm Melitopol.[9] On August 16, the Kyiv Post claimed that the unit was "finally in action" and that there was evidence that ″the 82nd Air Assault Brigade is heavily involved in the fight for the village of Robotyne in the western Zaporizhzhia region″.[10]
