160th Mechanized Brigade Used to Fill Gaps in Other Units

The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to face a growing manpower shortage, and the 160th Mechanized Brigade has encountered the same challenges that affected the first formations of the “150 series” brigades. The unit, which aimed to attract Ukrainian civilians living abroad with promises of fair treatment, training in Poland, and adequate conditions, has increasingly been used to reinforce other formations.

By December 2025, while still in the process of formation, the brigade’s 1st Mechanized Battalion was seconded to the 71st Jaeger Brigade in Sumy Oblast. The battalion was deployed mainly to second-line defensive positions, with a few exceptions. At the same time, additional elements of the brigade were seconded to the 23rd Mechanized Brigade. While the unit suffered several casualties, it gained essential combat experience.

In January 2026, the redistribution of personnel intensified. The majority of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion was transferred to the 425th Assault Regiment “Skala,” while elements of the 3-й механізований батальйон were sent to the 155th Mechanized Brigade. Both units were deployed north of Pokrovsk, primarily in the settlement of Hryshyne, officially to reinforce Ukrainian defensive positions.

Monitoring of social media groups where relatives search for missing soldiers indicates dozens of killed or missing servicemen from the 160th Mechanized Brigade in Hryshyne alone, many of whom had been assigned to Skala. MilitaryLand research shows that personnel attached to assault units were involved in attempts to retake lost positions near Pokrovsk, sustaining significant losses in the process.

These high-risk assault operations are carried out by assault units prioritized by the commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, including the 425th Assault Regiment.

When soldiers from a brigade still in the process of formation are sent to reinforce assault units, while veteran mechanized brigades face critical manpower shortages, it raises serious questions about the logic of continuing to form these newly created brigades. Sending newly mobilized troops to regain lost positions near Pokrovsk instead of forming capable reserves undermines the original purpose of creating new mechanized brigades.