155th Mechanized Brigade

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 had undergone a reformation, becoming the 155th Mechanized Brigade. 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 commanded 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 would desert. 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 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery, and 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.

In April 2026 Colonel Maksimov left the brigade, coming back as new leader of 14th Mechanized Brigade.

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.