These offensive brigades are designed to drive the Russians out of Ukraine

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Preparations for the widely announced counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army have been going on for months. The recapture mission was first discussed at the beginning of the year.

Since then, the whole world has been waiting for the potentially decisive offensive. “The counter-offensive is going to be a real firecracker, a violent thing for the Russian occupiers!” Andriy Chernyak, 52, an officer in the Ukrainian secret service, told Blick this week. It still remains a secret: only a handful of people know when and where Ukraine will launch its anticipated spring offensive.

But one thing is now clear: eight newly formed assault brigades with 40,000 soldiers will play a central role in the counter-offensive. They are not assigned to the regular Ukrainian armed forces and therefore report to the Ministry of the Interior and not the Ministry of Defence.

Among them are men and women, former police officers and former soldiers, but also people without combat experience. A clear statement is made on the recruitment page: “Occupiers, a storm is coming!” The names definitely sound martial: Hurricane, Spartan, Border of Steel, Azov, Rage, Frontier, Chervona Kalyna and Kara Dag. Blick shows what is known about the new units:

The Hurricane Brigade bills itself as the “Russian Military Elimination Brigade”. Like all other brigades, it reports to the Ministry of the Interior.

Some videos are circulating on social media that the brigade would show during frontline operations. These have not been verified.

Last weekend, Euronews published an article in which members of the Spartan brigade in the Kharkov region prepare for the counter-offensive. The program included shooting and driving exercises, but also the evacuation of infantry fighting vehicles and first aid training. The units practiced with machine guns and sniper rifles.

“I wanted to get involved because I want revenge, as harsh as that sounds in the 21st century,” Dmytro, a Border of Steel fighter, told Reuters. Before enlisting in the brigade, he worked at a bureau de change. “We must take revenge for all our people, for the murdered children,” he added.

Photos published by Reuters show men learning to fly drones using modern goggles. Rescuing wounded soldiers was also practiced, according to Reuters. “We will train constantly as the brigade is formed and we wait for combat orders,” the brigade’s commander, Valeriy Padytel, promised Reuters. He last year led border guards defending the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, including holding out at the Azovstal Steelworks before being captured by Russian forces.

Grens van Staal’s motto is: “We stand behind the border like a steel wall”. Among them would be fighters who were the first to be deployed in combat against Russian forces in February 2022.

Another of the eight combat brigades bears the well-known name of Azov. Their commander is called Bohdan Krotevich. He too was in Russian captivity. “We are ready to reclaim territory,” he told the Washington Post.

The newly created Azov Brigade is “a different unit” than the Azov regiment, he clarifies. The Azov regiment, in whose ranks Ukrainian nationalists and some right-wing extremists also marched, had to capitulate last year after a long battle for Mariupol and the steel factory.

1000 fighters of the nationalist movement are still in captivity. According to the Washington Post, 6,500 fighters will now be recruited into the new Azov brigade. Parts of the National Guard were also taken over for this purpose. In this way, the armed forces must be strengthened. “Our experience in Azovstal teaches us that there are no hopeless situations,” says Krotewitsch about the expected counter-offensive.

According to the Kyiv Post, the Rage Brigade is a combined assault brigade of the National Police. “There is a legal knowledge test for the Rage Brigade. This will be followed by a phase of physical tests,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Reva said in an interview with the newspaper in mid-February.

Very little is known about this brigade. Parts of the brigade would be fighters tasked with defending the airfield at Hostomel near Kiev since the beginning of the war.

A video posted on Twitter by the Ukrainian army shows new recruits handling mortars during an exercise. «Chevona Kalyna» is the name of a Ukrainian national march.

The national march is associated with the pursuit of independence of the Ukrainian people from the Soviet Union. According to unconfirmed information, it would be responsible for aerial reconnaissance missions. In early March, the brigade was reported to have assisted the Ukrainian army in attacking Wagner mercenary positions near Spirne in Donetsk Oblast.

The Kara Dag brigade issued the motto «Let’s raise the flag over Crimea». In accordance with the motto, “Kara Dag” is the name of a rock massif on the Crimean peninsula. The brigade consists partly of ex-combatants who stopped the Russian advance around Zaporizhia.

Source: Blick

Amelia

I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.