1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade

1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

The unit was first formed in 1992 as the 292nd Tank Regiment, and would later be expanded into a tank brigade, being reformed and designated as the 1st Tank Brigade.

In the spring of 2014, following the hostilities of the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea and their invasion of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the brigade was deployed to the border with Russia in Sumy Oblast to protect the shortest route to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. A few days later, one of its battalions was transferred to Donbas to support mechanized brigade elements in Luhansk Oblast, primarily around Luhansk Airport.

In 2015, the brigade supported the 30th Mechanized Brigade in Debaltseve, where it destroyed three enemy tanks.

At the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the brigade was stationed in Chernihiv Oblast and was the primary force responsible for defending the area. The brigade fought fiercely against Russian forces who attempted to take the main city in the area, Chernihiv, resulting in a short siege. The city was encircled; however, the unit maintained a supply route into the city. The siege was eventually lifted in late March to early April 2022.

The brigade, throughout the full-scale invasion, has participated in actions against the enemy in Lyman, Lysychansk, Avdiivka, Marinka, Staramaiorske, and Robotyne.

In July 2025, as part of a broader reorganization of tank brigades in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the brigade was reformed as the 1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade, resulting in the loss of part of its tank force.