157th Mechanized Brigade

157th Infantry Brigade is an infantry unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

The brigade was formed in the spring of 2024 as the 157th Infantry Brigade, following additional changes to the mobilization law in Ukraine, allowing the military to boost troop numbers, including lowering the minimum age for conscription and allowing prisoners to join the defense forces. This was revealed by the public organization, Komanda ne slovom.

In October 2024, it was confirmed that the Ukrainian High Command was to reform the brigade from an infantry unit into a fully-fledged mechanized formation, becoming the 157th Mechanized Brigade, with the change being disclosed by volunteers closely associated with the brigade.

In September 2024, the brigade was deployed to the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk Oblast and began to carry out combat missions. According to editors from Ukrainian Hromadske, which spoke with soldiers and officers of the brigade, the unit received a lack of equipment and support on its missions, including two battalions being lost to reinforce units elsewhere, a similar experience faced by units such as the 152nd Jaeger Brigade.

Insignia

The insignia features a chevron with a blue border and a yellow edge protruding from the inside of the canvas. Inside, the canvas is divided diagonally into two with green in the lower right and blue in the upper left. The central imagery displays a stylized lion’s head resembling electronic circuitry in yellow, light blue, and grey colors.