The Liut Brigade ( uk, ЛЮТЬ, , Fury, also spelled Lyut), is an assault brigade of the National Police of Ukraine formed on January 13, 2023, as a merger of three Special Purpose units from the War in Donbas.

History

Formation

During the War in Donbas, Ukraine turned local police, militias, paramilitaries and volunteers from the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts that remained loyal to Ukraine into impromptu military formations called special purpose units, that specialized in assault operations. These units were technically part of the National Guard of Ukraine, however, largely operated independently. During outbreak of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Denys Monastyrsky, then Minister of Internal Affairs, sought to restructure these units shortly before his death. Many of these units were merged into newer, more professional units, named the Offensive Guard. Three special purpose units, the Safari Regiment, Tsunami Regiment, and Luhansk-1 Battalion, which were made up of policemen, were merged to form the basis of the Liut Brigade, which would be subordinated to the National Police of Ukraine (NPU), and later joined by the Myrotvorets, Skif, Zakhid, and Enei Battalions. The NPU views the Liut Brigade, and other units based on police formations as a necessary patch, with NPU chief, Ivan Vyhivskyi, stating in an interview with '' The Washington Post'' on 17 November 2023, that: "I hope... that with time there will be no need for such a brigade." The brigades first, and so far only, commander is Police Colonel Oleksandr Netrebko, who, at the start of the invasion, was a veteran during the War in Donbas who then worked for the Kyiv police patrol.

Irpin

The unit first saw combat during the Battle of Irpin. The nascent brigade was rushed into creation to stop a Russian advance on Kyiv, and Netrebko noted that their presence shocked many members of the Ukrainian military, with one soldier coming up to him and asking "The police are at war? How is that possible?" The unit at that point was exclusively police officers, namely from Kyiv's

Rapid Operational Response Unit The Rapid Operational Response Unit, commonly abbreviated KORD, is a special purpose unit of the National Police of Ukraine. It is designed to respond to emergency situations, the level of which is so high and complex that it may exceed the capa ...

(KORD) unit and largely wore a mismatch of police uniforms and surplus camouflage and used armored cars on loan from local banks as they "became military within a day." The units were also open to new recruitment, seeing a surge of civilian enlistment during and after the Battle of Kyiv, and the Brigade is noted as having a higher concentration of

woman soldier Women have served in the military in many different roles in various jurisdictions throughout history. Women in many countries are no longer excluded from some types of combat missions such as piloting, mechanics, and infantry officer. Since 1 ...

s when compared to other Ukrainian military formations. Prior to being sent to the front, their training was directly supervised by Dmytro Nazarenko, head of the Kyiv Oblast State Administration. As with other NPU military formations, recruitment targets former members of the police, and members of the Liut Brigade can either use traditional military ranks, or if they were an active or former police officer, could either retain or be restored to their police rank. Members are also promised post-war employment as police officers, and active police members that joined are promised pay raises.

Klishchiivka

The brigade shifted towards the Eastern front and has taken part in the

2023 Ukrainian Counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces occupying its territory with a long-term goal of breaching the frontlines. Efforts were made in many directions, primarily ...

, seeing front line combat on the Donetsk oblast. Notably being involved in the liberation of

Klishchiivka Klishchiivka, ; russian: Клещиевка, Kleshchievka known as Karlivka until 1945, is a village in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located about north by east ( NbE) of the centre of Donetsk and about south-southw ...

on September 16, 2023, and receiving praise from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their role in freeing the village.

Odesa airstrike

On 15 March, 2024, an airstrike on Odesa killed 21 individuals, including Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gostischev, the commander of the Tsunami regiment.

Structure

* Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company * Safari Assault Regiment

Safari Regiment * Tsunami Assault Regiment

Tsunami Regiment * Shturmoviy polk Luhgansk

Luhansk Assault Regiment *

Myrotvorets Battalion *

Skif Battalion *

Zakhid Battalion * Enei Police Battalion

Enei Battalion *

Tavr Battalion * «Dnipro-1» battalion emblem

Dnipro-1 Regiment *

Shtorm Battalion

Gallery

Image:Поліціянт бригади Лють.jpg, Image:Бойовий прапор бригади Лють.jpg, Image:Бойовий прапор бригади Лють 2023.jpg, Image:Liberation of Klishchiivka, 2023-09-17 (02).jpg,

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 2023 2023 establishments in Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Brigades of Ukraine