17th Tank Brigade of Kryvyi Rih (17-та окрема танкова Криворізька бригада) is a tank formation of Armed Forces of Ukraine. The unit is the direct successor of Soviet 17th Tank Division. In 2014, when the war has broken out in Donbas, the unit was in the process of reorganization to 2nd Tank Regiment and only skeleton staff was present. The reorganization was ceased soon after it and the unit was deployed to Donbas. In fall 2014, most of the brigade was staffed with volunteers, mainly from territorial battalions. Additional mechanized battalions were formed to help 17th Brigade but in 2015, two battalions were transferred to other units. All tank units were withdrawn from the frontline in 2015 after the battle of Debaltsevo. The only mechanized battalion, that remained in the structure of the brigade, is regularly deployed to Donbas.
List of news posts which mentions the unit.
All Tank Brigades pages available
You can find details about all Ukrainian Tank brigades on our site.
Operation Report 2019 – Week #23
Operation reports are summary of what happened in Joint forces operation zone (previously known as Anti-Terrorist Operation zone or ATO) during the last week.
1st Tank Battalion
The battalion has three companies and each company is equipped with ten tanks.
2nd Tank Battalion
The battalion has three companies and each company is equipped with ten tanks.
3rd Tank Battalion
The battalion has three companies and each company is equipped with ten tanks.
Mechanized Battalion
Formed from the volunteers of 40th Territorial Defense Battalion “Kyivan Rus”. Equipped with BMPs.
Artillery Group
Brigade artillery group equipped with 2S1 and 2S3 self-propelled artillery vehicles.
Reconnaissance Company
Brigade scouts. The unit is equipped with BRDM-2s.
Anti-Aircraft Company
The company provides protection against danger from the air. It’s equipped with Tonguska and Strela-10.
Support units
This includes all rear elements such as engineers, communication, medics, and material support unit.
MM-14
The camouflage was officially adopted as standard camouflage of Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014. The semi-arad, with the addition of digital pattern, works well in Ukrainian nature.
T-64B
Type: MBT | Quantity: 5
T-64BV
Type: MBT | Quantity: 26
BMP-1
Type: IFV | Quantity: 32
MT-LB
Type: APC | Quantity: 2+
BRDM-2
Type: LAV | Quantity: 3+
R-145BM
Type: Command | Quantity: 3+
2S1 Gvozdika
Type: Artillery | Quantity: 4+
2S3 Akatsiya
Type: Artillery | Quantity: 4+
BM-21 Grad
Type: Artillery | Quantity: 2+
2K22 Tunguska
Type: Artillery | Quantity: 1+
2K35 Strela-10
Type: Artillery | Quantity: 3+
MT-LB-S
Type: Medical | Quantity: 1+
In 2015, due to loses in Donbas, the remaining BTR-80s, BTR-70s, and BMP-2s were removed from the brigade.
Lisichansk
22nd July – 24th July 2014
24th Mechanized Brigade with the support of Donbas battalion entered the city on the morning of 23rd of July. The Ukrainian flag was raised above the city in the evening of 24th of July.
Illovaisk
6th August 2014 – 3rd September 2014
An initially successful large-scale operation to liberate strategically important train crossroad ceased when Russian regular forces crossed the border into Ukraine and encircled Ukrainian forces there.
Marinka
4 August 2014 – today
The town was liberated by Ukrainian forces in August 2014. Separatists launched an offensive in 2015 and captured more than a half of the town before Ukrainian reinforcements pushed them back to original positions.
Bakhmutka Highway
7th October 2014 – today
Ukraine forces set up multiple checkpoints on the highway connecting Luhansk with Lisichansk. The checkpoints have been under constant attack since.
Debaltsevo 2015
1st January 2015 – 18th February 2015
Russian forces launched an offensive to capture important railway crossroad, the city of Debaltsevo. Ukrainian forces had not enough manpower in the area and they had to withdraw.
Manpower
Equipment
According to preliminary data, the unit lost the following equipment:
- 36 tanks (11x T-64B, 23x T-64BV, 2x T64-B1V)
- 11 IFVs (11x BMP-2, 7x BMP-1)
