Military unit
148th Separate Artillery Brigade "Zhytomyr" formerly called as the 148th Separate Howitzer Self-propelled Artillery Division[1] is an artillery brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces and till 2023, it was subordinated to the 81st Airmobile Brigade. It is based at the city of Zhytomyr and it's honorary name is also taken from the city's name.
History
The 148th brigade was initially created as the 148th Artillery Divizion in March 2015 as a part of the 81st Airmobile Brigade at the city of Druzhkivka and immediately started combat operations during the War in Donbas starting in July 2015 by providing artillery support during the Battle of Donetsk Airport[2] and then supporting operations near Horlivka in January 2016 near Opytny and Vodiane until March 2016 and then in Novgorod for 8 months and then near Avdiivka. Then it took part in Battle of Svitlodarsk in December 2016 and in combat operations in Marinka Raion in 2017. On 6 December 2021, while operating in Kramatorsk, the division was presented with a combat flag.[3][4]
In March 2022, it saw combat in the village of Sholomky with a soldier of the division (Andriy Tarasovych) being killed in action on 2 March while providing combat support.[5][6][7][8] AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma UAVs arrived in April 2022 as foreign aid during the Russian invasion of Ukraine[9] and are currently operated by the division.[10] On November 17 2022, the division was awarded the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery".[11] On 4 September 2023, the division became a brigade and was announced to be operating in Zaporizhzhia Oblast as a part of the Tavria operational-strategic group[12][13] carrying out precise artillery strikes using M777 howitzers.[14] On August 23, 2024, the brigade was awarded the honorary title of "Zhytomyr".[15]
Equipment
The brigade operates artillery pieces, mostly the M777 howitzer[14] and 2S3 Akatsiya as well as strike UAVs such as the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma.[10]
References
