Once rife with far-right extremists, the Ukrainian army’s 67th Mechanized Brigade is being reorganized
April 15, 2024
67TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE
The Ukrainian military has labored, for years, to root out far-right extremists in its ranks. The latest clash between the extremists and the defense ministry in Kyiv couldn’t have come at a worse time—or in a worse place.
After weeks of drama, the defense ministry redeployed and shook up the staffing within the army’s 67th Mechanized Brigade this weekend. The brigade was holding the most vulnerable district in the most vulnerable city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast: the canal district of Chasiv Yar.
Now the 67th Brigade—what’s left of it—has redeployed to the Ukrainian rear, and a brigade of Ukrainian territorials apparently has taken over the canal district’s defense.
The problem is that no territorial brigade can match a mechanized brigade’s firepower. And the defenders of the canal district need a lot of firepower as a much larger Russian force marches closer. The Ukrainian defense ministry is hoping that an influx of drones can help.
Chasiv Yar is important. The former industrial town, with a pre-war population of 12,000, straddles the high ground overlooking the approaches to the strategic cities of Kostyantynivka and Kramatorsk. The favorable geography explains why, after capturing the ruins of the eastern city of Avdiivka in mid-February, the 400,000-strong Russian army in Ukraine pivoted toward Chasiv Yar.
A canal threads north to south on the eastern edge of Chasiv Yar, forming a natural defensive barrier. But one small district lies on the far side of the canal. If Russian regiments can capture the canal district, they could use it as a base for crossing the canal and infiltrating the town center.
“If Ukraine were to lose control of Chasiv Yar, it could have dire consequences,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight explained.
The terrible task of defending the district initially fell to the 67th Brigade, a 2,000-strong all-volunteer unit that formed around the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, which is part of the far-right Right Sector political group.
The Right Sector’s former leader, Dmytro Yarosh, said he draws inspiration from Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who resisted Soviet rule in the 1940s and ’50s, but who is also considered a Nazi collaborator.
To be clear, the 67th Mechanized includes many recent recruits who have no ties to the Right Sector. But there were enough extremists in the brigade that it became a problem.
In late January, a medical unit as well as an assault group assigned to the brigade’s 1st Assault Company—a kind of elite infantry unit specializing in close combat—split from the 67th Brigade and joined the 59th Mechanized Brigade, instead.
Militaryland.net, which closely tracks Ukrainian combat units, attributed the schism to “personal issues with the command of the 67th Mechanized Brigade.”
The unit’s internal turmoil only escalated. Even as the 67th Brigade battled nearly daily Russian assaults in and around the canal district, many of its members were also busy squabbling with each other.
The brigade began losing ground earlier this month, handing the Russians a critical toehold just east of the canal district. While it’s true that the 67th Brigade, like all Ukrainian brigades, has been struggling with ammunition shortages ever since Russia-friendly Republicans in the U.S. Congress blocked further aid to Ukraine starting in October, a lack of ammo didn’t explain all of the 67th Brigade’s recent troubles.
The defense ministry in Kyiv investigated. It discovered, among other scandals, that the 67th Brigade’s officers were sending new volunteers—those without ties to the Right Sector—into combat with inadequate training and support.
The officers derisively called the new volunteers “pixels” after the pixelated pattern on their newly-issued uniforms. As bad as the Right Sector troops’ attitude was toward apolitical troops, “the attitude toward the ‘pixels’ was even worse,” Ukrainian Pravda reported. “They were the first to be sent into combat, and their lack of experience made them lose territory.”
Abruptly this weekend, the ministry yanked the 67th Brigade off the front line and began reassigning any brigade leaders with Right Sector ties.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukrainian forces, defended the changes in Chasiv Yar, stressing “the need to improve the quality of training, including the moral and psychological component.”
“The main task of these measures is to increase the fighting capacity of our troops, save the lives of our soldiers, disrupt the enemy’s plans and ensure the preparation of reserves,” Syrskyi added. Everything else, including the divisive politicking of far-right political groups, is a distraction.
It seems the defense of the canal district now falls to the next nearest unit: the 241st Territorial Brigade. While it surely is a relief to Ukraine’s eastern command that its garrison in Chasiv Yar is no longer rife with political extremists, the command now has a new problem.
Ukrainian territorials are the equivalent of U.S. Army National Guardsmen. They, like the American Guardsmen, generally have older and lighter weaponry than active army units have. In losing the 67th Brigade, Chasiv Yar’s defenders also lost the 67th Brigade’s tanks and artillery.
Syrskyi seems to appreciate the risk. It’s not for no reason that he singled out Chasiv Yar for a major robotic reinforcement. One “main conclusion” from the defense ministry’s overhaul of Chasiv Yar’s garrison was “to increase the number of high-tech unmanned systems of various purposes, with trained operators,” Syrskyi announced.
One obvious advantage of drones over human soldiers: they don’t have politics.
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Sources:
1. Frontelligence Insight: https://frontelligence.substack.com/p/battle-for-chasiv-yar
2. BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27173857
3. Militaryland.net: https://militaryland.net/news/part-of-da-vinci-wolves-breaks-ties-with-right-sector/
4. Ukrainian Pravda: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/04/14/7451183/
5. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi: https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1779426768845185334
“The defense ministry in Kyiv investigated. It discovered, among other scandals, that the 67th Brigade’s officers were sending new volunteers—those without ties to the Right Sector—into combat with inadequate training and support.”
Now we know why the 67th is being dismantled. And, rightfully so. They act more like roaches than Ukrainians.
Certainly not the kind of attitude people would like to see at the AFU. But it’s easy to point fingers from a rather safe bureau in govern,ent. These battle hardened veterans had held their positions for more thsn two years, without rotation or rehular breaks, and they don’t deserve to be criticized by mere keyboard soldiers. Where’s the effing gratitude for their brave service, during which many of them lost limbs and even lifes? That the AFU couldn’t donlroper reinforcements because president Zelenskyy had delayed necessary mobilization measures, because of political concerns, ain’t the soldiers’ fault at all! No matter their political views, to smear these brave but echahsted soldiers in this way is scandalous. That the unit eventually broke up under the immense pressure was an accident waiting to happen, which should and could have been prevented. And if the effing government doesn’t push the mobilization numbers up now asap, it won’t be the only unit to disintegrate. Zaluzhny had warned about this, but Zelenskyy didn’t want to hear it! 😠
I do think that good ole David Axe is too uncritically embracing the official view in this report. Firstly, recruits should already be well trained when they arrive at the front. And no amount of training can safeguard anyone from falling victim to a Russian glide bomb. Are the veterans of the 67th, probably fighting bravely since two yewrs without rotation, a longer break nor the chance for honorable discharge,to be jlamed for wanting to survive the war? To send fresh recruits to an echahsted unit at the front, instead of properly refreshing it in a timeout, is not the militarily corregt way in the first place. The German Wehrmacht of the Nazi Era fought the effing Russians, too, but rotated its units regularly until the summer of 1944, when manpower jecame too short.
Secondly, that’s now the real problem of the AFU, too, a shortage of combat soldiers, not extremism in its ranks. And it’s the fault of president Zelenskyy, who had waited a whopping 10 months to sign the bill for a reduction of the mobilization age to a still very generous 25 years. What was he thinking? Less than General Zaluzhny, who had dutifully raised alarm about the urgent need for reinforcements, that’s for sure. That’s why the forces are running out of strong combat units, and to replace a very meritous one with a second rank brigade smells of desperation. To add drones to the mix is too little, too mate. Why hadn’t those drones not been sent to the 67th before? To me, this looks like Syrsky, who so far hasn’t proven to be better than Zaluzhny at all, is playing along in counterproductive political windowdressing instead of making a stand for his soldiers. I’m afraid an already bad sithation, with a shortage of artillery support, is made worse with such shenanigans. Should Chasiv Yar fall, the blame goes to Syrsky and Zelenskyy.☹
There are always problems in a military, and especially so in a war. Not everything ever works perfectly all the time. I’m not at all surprised that the AFU is also affected by various troubles. Let them sort things out. The important thing is to recognize a problem and to do something about it, and not let if fester. Sometimes a decision will make things worse. If so, it should be reversed or changed accordingly.
I think there are worse problems to worry about in the Ukrainian military at the moment than this.
Sure, there’s always room for improvements, Mr. Ofp. But most probably not when disbanding a highly successful elite unit with a wealth of valuable experiences. I’m not a fan of rightwing nationalism, but I’m a realist and pragmqtist, and that’s the wrong move. Let’s be honest, pragmatism and the will to fight for one’s coujtry is stronger 8n the right wing than on the left. Consequentially, the Wolves had been thecmost dedicated defenders of the country. Regardless how politically inconvenient they’ve been, their efforts and sacrifices demand respect. In return, the government has tobshow some tolerance towards their insistence on chosing their own recruits, with the right (!) chemistry.
But what happened instead was that first that volunteer unit was forced into the regular army, difficult enough, and after the death of Da Vinci didn’t have a powerful leader anymore. Like the whole AFU, they d7dn’t get enough reiforcements and those guys they got were badly trained and probwbly often didn’t fit in. That led to this ugly situation where veterans tried to save their own skins by sending the noobs into the trenches. That wasn’t ok at all, sure, but should have been corrected in a discreet manner, not by disbanding this proud brigade.
I dodn’t doubt that Syrsky once again gave in to political pressure by the president’s office, without regard for the consequences. But since there’s many many rightwingers in the army, who hold the Da Vinci Wolves in very high regard, this will sow division, unrest and demotivation inmthe forces. I see this as a very counterproductive move that’s almost as bad as the lack of shells, missiles and reinforcements. The AFU can’t afford such political stupidity at this very critical moment at all! 😠
Please read this for more background info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci_Wolves_Battalion
So, these are the famous Da Vinci Wolves, an elite unit defending the country since 2014! Where’s the effing gratitude for their 12 years of fighting back? Sure, they had been a polutical thorn in the side of poluticians who are more concerned about public apoearances than combat records, but that’s not the way to treat such battle scarred veterans! And Zelenskyy wouldn’t have dared to act like this when “Da Vinci” himself, Dmytro Kotsiubailo, Hero of Ukraine, was still alive. This ugly smear campaign against the unit will have negative consequences on the motivation of the soldiers, I’m afraid. Who wants to die for such an ungrateful government, really? ☹