155th Mechanized Brigade is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
The brigade was first acknowledged back in May 2024 as the 155th Infantry Brigade. This was part of an expansion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, with other brigades following the passing of a new mobilization law, lowering the age of men to be conscripted from 27 to 25, allowing prisoners to join the military, and several other changes.
In September 2024, it was revealed that the brigade was reorganized in a mechanized formation.
The brigade was also confirmed to receive Western Leopard 2A4 tanks, with the first crews being trained in Poland, on tanks from the Polish military by Norwegian instructors. It would be revealed at a later date that the unit had also begun training in France, receiving French equipment, in October 2024.
Colonel Dmytro Ryumshin was also appointed as the commander of the brigade, having previously commanded the 33rd Mechanized Brigade and later the 47th Mechanized Brigade, during the defense of Avdiivka. In December 2024 and January 2025, a series of troubling reports led to the State Bureau of Investigation launching a criminal case into the circumstances surrounding the formation of the brigade.
By July and August 2024, 2,550 servicemen were reassigned to reinforce other units, stripping the unit of all capable personnel. In October 2024, 1,924 servicemen were sent to France to undergo training; of these, only 51 had more than a year of military experience, 459 had less than a year, and the rest had been enlisted for less than two months. In France, it would become known that 50 soldiers deserted. While the entire brigade command trained in France, over 4,000 recruits were enlisted in Ukraine without oversight, resulting in more than 700 desertions between October and November 2024.
The brigade would then go on to carry out combat missions in the Pokrovsk direction in late 2024; however, despite having an excellent arsenal of weapons, including Leopard 2A4, VAB armoured personnel carriers, Caesar self-propelled howitzers, and trained infantry, the brigade ultimately lacked drones, electronic warfare equipment, and other capabilities, leading to a large loss of equipment and personnel in the area.
For such circumstances, Colonel Ryumshin left the brigade, and was replaced in december 2024 by Colonel Taras Maksimov, senior officer in an artillery unit of the 14th Mechanized Brigade.
By April 2025, the brigade underwent a reformation, receiving a new insignia to help redeem the former image of the brigade’s failures. This helped to pave the way for further scrutiny over the formation of other units, such as the 156th Mechanized Brigade. In early August 2025, the brigade was assigned to the 21st Army Corps.
The brigade was deployed in Pokrovsk and fought in the harsh defence of the city, continuing to operate, in 2026, in Hryshyne village, repelling the russian air assault offensive operation aimed to breaktrough such key stronghold.
In January, elements of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion of 160th Mechanized Brigade were attached to the brigade, officially to reinforce Ukrainian defensive positions.
The MilitaryLand team discovered that personnel of both brigades were involved in attempts to retake lost positions, sustaining significant personeel and equipment losses, like during the failed counterrattack conducted on March 31, organized by the 425th Assault Regiment.
The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, responsible for operations in the Pokrovsk area, said on April 1 that a formal investigation has been opened into the operation.
Nothing came out of it, while it publicy surfared that, by late 2025, the brigade had been subordinated to the “Skelya” Assault Regiment under order from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. The decision effectively placed a brigade-sized formation under the control of an assault regiment — an unusual command structure that drews more than logical criticisms.
In April 2026 Colonel Maksimov left the brigade, coming back as new leader of 14th Mechanized Brigade.
Separate allegations of abuse documented within units linked to the 425th Assault Regiment have further fueled scrutiny. On May first, a soldier from the brigade was assaulted, beaten, tortured and heavily injured in front of other servicemen by suspected member of the 210th Battalion, which was recently reformed into a drone unit of the regiment.
Insignia
The insignia displays a chevron with a green border and a blue canvas. At the core of the insignia are two crossed silver swords, surrounded by four golden fleurs-de-lis, evoking heritage to the brigade being trained in France and receiving the honorary nickname Anne of Kyiv. Above the swords rests a stylized Tryzub with a rose motif.
