Legendary Aidar Battalion Expands to Regiment

The 24th Assault Battalion, commonly known by its nickname Aidar, has recently been expanded into the size of a regiment. The hint of an expansion was first spotted by our contributors from a post by Colonel Manko Valentin, the commander of the Ukrainian Assault Troops formation under the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and the 33rd Assault Regiment.

This was then later confirmed on December 12, 2025, on the Telegram channel of the 33rd Assault Regiment. The regiments are both currently engaging in operations in the Huliapole direction in Zaporizhia Oblast, southern Ukraine, and coordinated together using assault groups, artillery, and drone assets to stop Russian advances in the area.

The battalion is one of the most experienced assault battalions in the entirety of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, having been formed in May 2014 at the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, as the 24th Territorial Defense Battalion. It attracted many volunteers of Euromaidan self-defense volunteers, patriots, and other highly motivated civilians ready to defend their country.

They would go on to be reformed as an assault battalion in September 2014, the very first of its kind, and would throughout time be assigned to several structures, including the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade and the 53rd Mechanized Brigade, throughout the War in Donbas.

Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the battalion was assigned to the jurisdiction of the newly formed 5th Assault Brigade and has taken part in many combat operations. It would leave the structure of the brigade in 2025.