The 55th Separate Artillery Brigade Zaporozhian Sich (Ukrainian: 55-та окрема артилерійська бригада Запорізька Січ), is a Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
History The personnel of the 55th Artillery Division took the oath of allegiance to the people of Ukraine on 19th January 1992. The Division was reorganized into the 2nd Tactical Artillery Group, and in October 2005 the Group and the 20th Artillery Regiment were reorganized into the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade.
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Unit has been participating in the war since 2014.
The Brigade is one of the five recipients of the For Courage and Bravery Award of the President of Ukraine which it received during the independence day parade on 24th August 2015.
In 2018, the brigade was awarded the honorific title Zaporozhian Sich. Half a thousand artillerymen solemnly received military berets on Khortytsia (photo), Radio Free Europe (27 July 2020)
During the full-scale invasion the brigade took part in the Pokrovsk offensive.
Structure The brigade operates a squadron consisting of six batteries, each with three units, of CAESAR self-propelled howitzers donated by France following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
55th Artillery Brigade Headquarter 1st Artillery Battalion 2nd Artillery Battalion 3rd Artillery Battalion 4th Artillery Battalion Anti-tank Artillery Battalion Artillery Reconnaissance Battalion Engineer Company Maintenance Company Logistic Company Signal Company Radar Company Medical Company CBRN Protection Company
Equipment The brigade mainly operates self-propelled and towed howitzers. Besides tube artillery it also operates the rocket artillery system RM-70 and various Anti-tank guided missiles, including Shturm-S in 2014. TypeImageOriginRoleNumberNoteSelf-propelled artilleryCAESARFranceWheeled howitzer?Provided by France and Denmark. In service since April–May 20222S22 BohdanaUkraineWheeled howitzer?Rocket Artillery RM-70 VampireCzechiaMLRS?Provided by Czechia. In service since April–May 2022Towed Artillery M777USAHowitzer?Provided by the US, Canada and Australia. In service since April 20222A65 Msta-BSovjet UnionHowitzer?2A36 Giatsint-BSovjet UnionField gun?D-20Sovjet UnionHowitzer?MT-12Sovjet UnionAnti-Tank gun?
Commanders Colonel Borys Lorman (2005–2007) Colonel Yevhen Zamotayev (2007–2010) Colonel Brusov Evgenievich (2010–2018) Colonel Roman Kachur (2018–2025)
References