28-а механізована бригада

28th Mechanized Brigade is a mechanized brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. It’s a successor of Soviet 28th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, which was reformed as 28th Mechanized Division under the Ukrainian Army. During the War in Donbas, a BTG element was formed and deployed to the border area near Izvarine. In August 2014, the element reinforced Ukrainian defense west of Donetsk and participated in the battle of Donetsk Airport.

At the begging of russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the brigade was stationed in Odesa and nearby surroundings. Units of the brigade foiled russian ambitious landings in the region and in Kobleve, in Mykolaiv Oblast. Veteran soldiers of the brigade help to train servicemen of the 126th Odesa City Defense Brigade of Territorial Defense Forces.
By March, an additional 4th and 5th Reserve Battalion were formed by veterans of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. Later in 2024, the units were restructured into rifle battalions

As the threat of a naval invasion in Odessa Oblast receded, the brigade began to be redeployed to support Ukrainian troops defending Mykolaiv.
On July 23, a Russian rocket hit a command post of the brigade near Mykolaiv and killed the commander, Vitalii Huliaiev, and three high-ranking officers.
У серпні 2022 року полковник Юрій Мадар був призначений новим командиром 28-ї механізованої бригади.
Later, the brigade took part and was a protagonist of the following campaign that brought to the liberation of Kherson.

In 2023, the brigade was a key unit involved for the defence of Bakhmut, later partecipating in the counterattacks close to the settlement of Avdiivka, where continued to operate defensively the following year. Units of the brigade continuad to operate in the area, being partially redeployed to cover the eastern flanks of the key city of Kostiantynivka, where they continue to operate still in 2026, without rest.
It can be said without hesitation that the brigade has always fought on the front lines in the harshest scenarios of this bloody war, with extreme valor and spirit of sacrifice, achieving extraordinary results especially in the defense of Ukraine.

In November 2025 was known that the subordinated 67-й стрілецький батальйон was disbanded and its personnel sent to other units of the brigade.