Uncovering the Mystery of Ukraine’s 13th and 88th Brigades

In February 2023, social media pages for the 13th Jager Brigade and the 88th Mechanized Brigade announced the formation of two new units within the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The creation of these brigades quickly raised suspicions, as their unit numbers did not align with standard Ukrainian military numbering conventions, and their emblems featured commercial-style graphics. Despite this, both brigades posted multiple images displaying soldiers and equipment adorned with their unique emblems.

In March 2023, the Varash District State Administration reported that both the 13th Jager Brigade and the 88th Mechanized Brigade had joined Tactical Group Volyn, bolstering Ukrainian defenses near the Belarusian border. This announcement marked the first—and only—mention of these brigades in official media sources.

Unlike other Ukrainian units, no volunteers ever requested donations for them, nor were there reports of missing relatives from its ranks or any publicly available information regarding its military unit number. On August 25, 2024, a post on the official Facebook page of the 88th Mechanized Brigade warned of fraudulent fundraising efforts claiming to support the brigade. The post stated that its soldiers are fully equipped with all necessary weapons and ammunition, making it the first Ukrainian Army unit to claim complete provisioning—a detail that raised some suspicion, again.

In contrast, posts from the 13th Jager Brigade depicted soldiers and equipment that appeared more characteristic of National Guard or Border Guard forces rather than regular military. Additionally, the Roshel Senator visible in the first picture has a number marking of 1-?91, a typical identifier for National Guard vehicles.

Through our contacts, we reached out to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and asked about the existence of 88th Mechanized Brigade. We received the following reply:

… we inform you that according to the records of the Main Personnel Directorate, as of October 21, 2024, no entity named the 88th Mechanized Brigade exists within the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ...

Based on information from the General Staff, it can be confidently stated that the 88th Mechanized Brigade does not exist, and the 13th Jager Brigade very likely does not exist either. Both units may either be a psychological operation or, more likely, a small group of soldiers unofficially designating a platoon or company by these names.