Lyut Brigade commander killed in an accident

Colonel Maksym Kazban, the commander of the Lyut Assault Brigade, was killed on July 22, 2025. This unfortunate news was announced by the Ukrainian National Police and the brigade itself that he was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Donetsk Oblast.

Who was Maksym Kazban?

He began his military service in 2014 with the 79th Air Assault Brigade and was a veteran of the war in Donbas. Later that year, he joined the Security Service of Ukraine’s “Alpha” unit, where he participated in numerous missions, including a notable operation near Chornobaivka that resulted in significant Russian losses.

Since July 2023, he held the position of first deputy brigade commander, eventually becoming the brigade’s commander in September 2024. Under his leadership, he helped to transform the brigade immensely into a prestigious level and formidable fighting force, a view shared by many of the brigade’s soldiers. Many assaults were conducted, coordinating and planning the execution of the liberation of Klischiivka, and also planning reconnaissance, offensive, and defensive operations in the Kurdyumivka and Maiorsk areas of Donetsk Oblast, with him personally adjusting artillery fire.

Under his leadership, the brigade’s soldiers were the first to confront the enemy on the Toretsk front, and have since endured some of the fiercest fighting in the brigade’s history.

He was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II and III Class, the Medal “For Military Service to Ukraine”, the SBU Badge “For Courage”, the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief’s “Steel Cross”, and was twice awarded the honorary distinction of “Firearm Weapon.”