UKRAINIAN ARMY PHOTO
When a Russian tank army swept southwest from the Russia-Belarus border region into northern Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24, a single Ukrainian tank brigade stood between it and the eastern suburbs of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian army’s 1st Tank Brigade was outnumbered—not only by the 10 or so battalion tactical groups belonging to the Russian 41st Combined Arms Army, but also adjacent Russian formations.
Incredibly, the 1st Tank Brigade not only halted the larger Russian force in the first few days of Russia’s wider war in Ukraine, it swiftly transitioned to an active defense and, for the next five weeks, protected the city of Chernihiv, 60 miles northeast of Kyiv.
The Russians surrounded and cut off Chernihiv, but the 1st Tank Brigade and an assortment of reserve and territorial units held out. On Thursday, the Ukrainians retook the first of several main roads connecting Kyiv and Chernihiv, lifting a month-long siege and shifting the momentum along this front toward the Ukrainians for the first time since the Russians attacked.
The 1st Tank Brigade is one of the best of Ukraine’s 20 active brigades. It includes three tank battalions with the latest locally-produced T-64BM tanks as well as a mechanized infantry battalion with BMP fighting vehicles. Each battalion on paper includes 40 or 50 vehicles and around 400 troops.
Ukrainians have it all … almost; courage, high morale, good training, good leadership and good tactics. The only thing missing are numbers. But, as with many, many other battles of history, numbers are not everything!
It’s nice to hear of the heroes that are so motivated talented patriotic and just love their country that they are prepared to die to protect. We hear of the various battles but I’d like to hear more of the individuals that are making the Ukrainian Army the best in the world.
I prefere their identity being secret.
Indeed! OpSec must be supreme.
Sorry Mike I didn’t suggest that their identity is revealed
Russia is upset about the fuel dump at Belgorod and is now threatening Ukraine over the destruction. My question is what are the Russians going to do? Invade?
Ukraine needs to be hunting fuel dumps like that and destroy them as well as tearing up railroads in and out of such places for miles around. Take out the Kerch Strait bridge as well.
Yes, they should, and I’m sure that every target that is possible to be reached is in their focus.
I saw a late report that US intelligence identified the missile coming from NE Russia.