Kara-Dah Brigade

Kara-Dag Brigade is a unit of the Ukrainian National Guard.

The unit was initially formed on June 1, 1994, as the 9th Special Purpose Regiment “Cheetah”. On July 1, 1995, the unit was relocated from its initial headquarters in Shyroke, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Until 2014, the unit was part of the Ukrainian Internal Troops and engaged in the tasks of protecting public order, as well as strategic facilities. Between 2000 and 2005, the regiment’s personnel were constantly involved in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.

At the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, particularly following the outbreak of conflict in Donbas, it began to carry out operations in both Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts in March 2014, where it would clash with pro-Russian separatists in various locations. At this time, the unit was also integrated within the newly formed Ukrainian National Guard.

On July 16, 2014, Lieutenant Bohdan Zavada, the commander of the Special Purpose Mechanized Company of the Regiment, was killed in action, and the unit would later go on to be named after him on March 25, 2020.

In August 2014, the unit would be reformed under the name of the 9th Operational Regiment “Cheetah”.

Following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the unit set out to meet Russian Forces in the Zaporizhzhia direction, beginning February 24, 2022, and participated in the defense of Mariupol, Melitopol, Tokmak, Kamyanske, and Malaya Tokmachka. The unit would later successfully halt the Russian advance along the Orikhiv-Kamyanske line.

On October 27, 2022, the regiment was awarded the honorary distinction “For Courage and Bravery”.

On January 15, 2023, the unit was officially reformed under the new Offensive Guard scheme under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The regiment was scaled up to the size of a brigade, and was redesignated as the 15th Operational Brigade, named as “Kara-Dah” under the project.

In August 2024, the brigade was redeployed to the Donetsk direction, where it defended Selidove, Porkovsk, and Kurakhove. Since early 2025, the brigade has been engaged in combat operations in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as the Kupyansk direction.

On April 15, 2025, the brigade became integrated within the newly formed 1st Azov Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard.

In late 2025 to early 2026, a battalion tactical group of the brigade was deployed to the Dobropilia and Pokrovsk direction to help defend with its brother units in the heavy fighting to defend the city.

In 2026, the brigade received a new chevron, and later Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Ryasny, the brigade’s deputy commander, was appointed as the new commander of the brigade, replacing former Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Bukatar.

Insignia

The insignia features a pointed chevron in contrasting shades of dark green and black. At the centre is an image of three swords, alongside an outline of a mountain and the brigade’s numerical designation written in Roman numerals.