, image = 61 ОПЄБр к.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = 61st Jager Infantry Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia , dates = 2015Present , country = , allegiance = , branch =

Ground Forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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Mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

Light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

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Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

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Operational Command North Operational Command North is a command of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in northern Ukraine. It was formed in 2013 from the Western Operational Command and Territorial Directorate North by reforming the 13th Army Corps. The operation command trace ...

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Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...

, Zhytomyr Oblast , motto = , march = , mascot = , battles =

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, anniversaries = , notable_commanders = , current_commander = The 61st "Stepova" Jager Infantry (Forest and Swampland Light Mechanized) Brigade ( uk, 61-ша окрема механізована єгерська Степова бригада) is one of the youngest formations of the Mechanized Infantry of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the Army, land forces of Ukraine and one of the five Military branch, branches of the Armed For ...

, raised in 2015 as the 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade (61-ша окрема мотопіхотна бригада) of the Ukrainian Ground Forces' 4th Army Reserve Corps. Based in

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast ( uk, Жито́мирська о́бласть, translit=Zhytomyrska oblast), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna ( uk, Жито́мирщина}) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the obla ...

, it is one of the Ground Forces' specialized formations, whose role is to defend the forest lands of the north as well as the swampy terrain of the

Pinsk Marshes __NOTOC__ The Pinsk Marshes ( be, Пінскія балоты, ''Pinskiya baloty''), also known as the Pripet Marshes ( be, Прыпяцкія балоты, ''Prypiackija baloty''), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural ...

, which are in the area of responsibility (AOR) of the brigade.

Brief history

The brigade, one of the newest formations to be established in the Ground Forces as a result of the expansion of this service in light of the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

, was raised in 2015 first as a reserve motorized formation of the Ground Forces Command, which would later be transferred in 2017-18 as part of the 4th Army Reserve Corps, with its first brigade HQ and garrison based in

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...

. At first, the brigade was a motorized infantry unit with its own artillery regiment and 3 battalions, each former territorial defense battalions. On 25 April 2019, the formation, in compliance with a directive from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces General Headquarters, left the reserves and was placed with its new designation as a light infantry unit under the

, Zhytomyr Oblast. The majority of the servicemen of the brigade are personnel under contract service within the Ground Forces, many of them coming from the territory of the oblast and from the forested sectors within the brigade's AOR. They are thus equipped for forest and swamp warfare operations within its vicinity, especially in the Belarusian and Russian borders and in the swamplands of Pripyat in the north, working with personnel of the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Special Operations Forces, as well as the State Border Service. It is the terrain of the AOR of this brigade, which cannot be traversed by mechanized vehicles, that makes the brigade's duties all the more important in this part of Ukraine. Since parts of the AOR have had been covered by the Chernobyl excursion zone the brigade is planned to be also embarked in a specialized

CBRN defense Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfare, biological, radiological warfare, radiological or nuclear warfare, nucle ...

capability in the coming years. The ''

Jager Jager is a Dutch occupational surname meaning "hunter". People with this surname include: *Durk Jager (born 1943), Dutch businessman in the United States * Eric Jager (born 1957), American medievalist and literary critic *Evan Jager (born 1989), ...

'' (Ukrainian: ''єгерська'') designation of the brigade, the first Ukrainian unit to bear this title after more than a century, is of German origin in the same-named light infantry formations of the German Army, the defunct

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

and in the former

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

, which stationed such units in the past in the Kyiv and Odessa Military Districts. In 2022, the infantry brigade was mechanized from being a light motorized unit.

Brigade organization as of 2019

* 61st Jager Infantry Brigade,

** Headquarters & Headquarters Company, Zhytomyr ** 1st Rifle Battalion (Mech) ** 2nd Rifle Battalion (Mech) ** 3rd Rifle Battalion (Mot) ** Tank Battalion ** 61st Brigade Artillery Group (Light) *** Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery *** Self-propelled Artillery Battalion ( 2S1 Gvozdika) *** Field Howitzer Artillery Battalion *** Rocket Artillery Battalion (

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first com ...

) *** Anti-tank Artillery Battalion (

MT-12 Rapira 2A19 or T-12 was a revolutionary Soviet 100-mm anti-tank gun. It was the first (anti-) tank gun to adopt a smoothbore barrel, and to introduce modern armor piercing shot, like the APFSDS. It uses long projectiles that are more powerful than its ...

) ** 61st Brigade Air Defense Missile Artillery Battalion (Light) (under formation) ** Engineer Battalion ** Maintenance Battalion ** Logistic Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Sniper Company **

Electronic Warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

Company ** Signal Company ** Radar Company ** CBRN-defense Company ** Medical Company ** Brigade Band

Brief history

Brigade organization as of 2019

References

See also