17th Tank Brigade (Ukraine)

The 17th Tank Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The full name of the Brigade is the 17th Separate Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade named after Konstantin Pestushko.[3][4] It was formerly known as 17th Guards Tank Division. The Brigade is located in Kryvyi Rih.

17th Tank Brigade (2016–present) 17th Guards Tank Brigade (Sep 2003 – 2016) 17th Guards Tank Division (1965 – Sep 2003) 37th Guards Tank Division (1957–1965) 25th Guards Mechanized Division[1] (1945–1957) 20th Guards Rifle Division (1942–1945) 174th Rifle Division (1940–1942)
Ukrainian: 17-та окрема танкова Криворізька бригада
17th Tank Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1940–present
Country	Soviet Union (1940–1991)  Ukraine (1991–present)
Branch	Ground Forces
Type	Armoured Forces
Role	Armoured
Size	Brigade
Part of	Operational Command East
Garrison/HQ	Kryvyi Rih[2] MUN А3283
Patron	Konstantin Pestushko[3]
Engagements	World War II War in Donbass
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner (removed)  Order of Suvorov (removed)
Battle honours	Kryvyi Rih
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. Oleksandr Tarnavskiy

History

The current unit's history stems from the 174th Rifle Division, which became the 20th Guards Rifle Division in 1942. The 20th Guards Rifle Division fought at the Battle of Stalingrad, Krivoi Rog, Odessa, Budapest, and Vienna. It was with the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. The history of the postwar 17th Guards Tank Division traces back to the 20th Guards Rifle Division which was active in 1945.[5]

It became the 25th Guards Mechanized Division in 1945,[6] and in 1957 37th Guards Tank Division at Constanza with the 1st Guards Army.[1] The division moved to Kryvyi Rih in 1958 and was subordinated to the 6th Guards Army. In 1960, its 69th Separate Tank Training Battalion was disbanded. On 19 February 1962 the Missile Battalion and the 129th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion was activated. On 11 January 1965 the 37th became the 17th Guards Tank Division, a designation it would retain until the fall of the Soviet Union.[1] In 1968 the 26th Separate Guards Sapper Battalion became an engineer-sapper battalion. The 44th Separate Chemical Defence Battalion was activated from the chemical defence company in 1972. The 1055th Separate Material Supply Battalion was formed from the separate motor transport battalion. In June 1989, the 1158th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment was transferred to East Germany, and was replaced by the 1069th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the 47th Guards Tank Division. The 25th and 92nd Tank Regiments of the mobilization 58th Tank Division replaced the division's 216th Guards and 224th Tank Regiments in June 1990. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 60% strength.[1]

Still designated a tank division as of Decree N 350/93 (August 21, 1993), when Colonel Ivan Svidi, Commander of the 17th Tank Division, 6th Army Corps, Odessa Military District, became a major-general.

In accordance with Decree 925/98, of 23 August 1998, Division commander Serhiy Andriyovych Harbuz was promoted to Major General.[7]

In September 2003 the division was downsized into a brigade.[5] After the 6th Army Corps was disbanded in 2013, the brigade became part of Operational Command East.

On 18 November 2015 its honorifics "Red Banner Order of Suvorov" were removed as part of an Armed Forces-wide removal of Soviet awards and honorifics.[8] The Kryvyi Rih battle honour, through, remained because Kryvyi Rih is located in Ukraine.[9] On 22 August 2016, its Guards title was removed.[10]

15 personnel from the brigade were awarded state orders and decorations for actions of bravery under the colours in the Donbass War to date.

During the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport, the word cyborg (Ukrainian: кіборг) was used to refer to the Ukrainian defenders of the airport.[11][12] It was first applied to these soldiers online, and spread from there into the Ukrainian media. It refers to the way that the airport defenders were able to fend off constant attacks by DPR forces in close quarters with little sleep or support, just as science-fiction cyborgs are "indestructible half-men, half-machines", or "superhuman".[11][13] The cyborgs have become part of Ukrainian national mythos, and are cast in a "near-legendary light" amongst many Ukrainians.[14] The term "cyborg" is usually applied to the following units: 3rd Spetsnaz Regiment, 93rd Mechanised Brigade, 79th Airmobile Brigade, 17th Tank Brigade, and the Right Sector volunteer battalion.[15]

Current Structure

As of 2017 the brigade's structure is as follows:

• 17th Tank Brigade, Kryvyi Rih
  • Headquarters & Headquarters Company
  • 1st Tank Battalion
  • 2nd Tank Battalion
  • 3rd Tank Battalion
  • Mechanized Battalion
  • 40th Motorized Infantry Battalion "Kryvbas"
  • Brigade Artillery Group
    • Headquarters & Target Acquisition Battery
    • Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (2S3 Akatsiya)
    • Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (2S1 Gvozdika)
    • Rocket Artillery Battalion (BM-21 Grad)
  • Anti-Aircraft Missile Artillery Battalion
  • Engineer Battalion
  • Maintenance Battalion
  • Logistic Battalion
  • Reconnaissance Company
  • Sniper Company
  • Electronic Warfare Company
  • Signal Company
  • Radar Company
  • CBRN-defense Company
  • Medical Company

Past commanders

• Nikolay Mikhaylovich Dreyer – 25 February 1944 – April 1945
• Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Tarnavskiy – temporary commander 2007[16]

Decorations

• Order of Suvorov (removed)
• Order of the Red Banner (removed)
• 15 individual state medals for valor during the Donbass War

References

1. Holm, Michael. "17th Guards Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
2. "Питання удосконалення навичок виконання вправ бойових стрільб з танка планується відпрацювати з військовослужбовцями 17 окремої танкової бригади 6 армійського корпусу на Криворізьському військовому полігоні" [Live fire tank exercises planned for 17th Guards Tank Brigade 6th Army Corps Kryvyi Rih on training ground] (in Ukrainian). Press Center of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
3. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №618/2019" [DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE №618 / 2019] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
4. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ № 569/2006" [Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 569/2006]. president.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Press Service of the President of Ukraine. 23 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
5. "17 окрема танкова бригада" [17th Separate Tank Brigade]. Ukrainian Military Portal (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
6. Drogovoz 2003, p. 393
7. "У К А З ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ Про присвоєння військових звань" [Decree of the President of Ukraine On Conferring Military Rank] (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. Archived from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
8. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №646/2015" [Ukaz President of Ukraine No. 646/2015] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
9. "З назв військових частин прибрали радянські відзнаки. СПИСОК" [List of military units with removed Soviet designations]. Istorychna Pravda (in Ukrainian). 21 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
10. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №344/2016" [Ukaz of the President of Ukraine No. 344/2016] (in Ukrainian). President of Ukraine. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
11. Shevchenko, Vitaly (30 October 2014). "The 'cyborg' defenders of Donetsk airport". BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
12. Goncharenko, Roman (20 January 2015). "Donetsk airport: Strategic rubble of high symbolic value". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
13. Grytsenko, Oksana (10 October 2014). "'Cyborgs' pledge to defend ruined Donetsk airport". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
14. Miller, James; Vaux, Pierre (22 January 2015). "The Death of Ukraine's Cyborg Army". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
15. "Cyborgs v Kremlin". Ukraine Today. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
16. "Питання удосконалення навичок виконання вправ бойових стрільб з танка планується відпрацювати з військовослужбовцями 17 окремої танкової бригади 6 армійського корпусу на Криворізьському військовому полігоні" [Live fire tank exercises planned for 17th Guards Tank Brigade 6th Army Corps Kryvyi Rih on training ground] (in Ukrainian). Press Center of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2016.

• Drogovoz, Igor (2003). Танковый меч страны Советов [Tank Sword of the Soviet country] (in Russian). Moscow: AST. ISBN 9851311332.