17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade

The unit's history stems from the 174th Rifle Division, which became the 20th Guards Rifle Division in 1942. The 174th Rifle Division fought as part of the 22nd Army in the Polotsk defensive operation, where it escaped encirclement. During the winter of 1942, it fought in defensive and counteroffensive operations in the Battle of Moscow. It was awarded the honorary title of "Guards" and was renamed into the 20th Guards Rifle Division on 17 March 1942. The 20th Guards Rifle Division fought at the Battle of Stalingrad, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, Budapest, and Vienna. It was with the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. In 1945, the unit became the 25th Guards Mechanized Division, and in 1957, it was renamed to the 37th Guards Tank Division at Constanza with the 1st Guards Army. It is still designated a tank division as of Decree N 350/93 (21 August 1993), when Colonel Ivan Svidi, Commander of the 17th Tank Division, 6th Army Corps, Odesa 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. In September 2003, the division was downsized into a brigade. The Kryvyi Rih battle honour remained because Kryvyi Rih is located in Ukraine. On 22 August 2016 its Guards title was removed. In 2019 it was granted the honorific "Kostiantyn Pestushko". During the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport, the word cyborg () was used to refer to the Ukrainian defenders of the airport. It was first applied to these soldiers online, and was picked up by 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". The cyborgs have become part of Ukrainian national mythos, and are cast in a "near-legendary light" amongst many Ukrainians. 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. In October 2024, the tank brigade was reformed into a heavy mechanized brigade. == 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine ==

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the brigade participated in the battle of Kharkiv. On the night of the invasion, part of the brigade was stationed in Luhansk Oblast and one tank battalion in Mariupol. From the 8th to the 11th May 2022, in the battle of the Siverskyi Donets, the artillery from the 17th Tank Brigade destroyed a Russian battalion tactical group. The brigade has since been involved in combat in the battle of Bakhmut. Alongside the 60th Infantry Brigade, the 4th Battalion of the 17th Tank Brigade took part in the March 2022 recapture of eleven villages in the Kherson Oblast. == Structure ==

As of 2023 the brigade's structure is as follows: • 17th Tank Brigade, Kryvyi Rih • Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company • 1st Tank Battalion • 2nd Tank Battalion • 3rd Tank Battalion • 4th Tank Battalion • 17th Mechanized Infantry Battalion • 2nd Rifle Infantry Battalion • 17th 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 Defense Battalion • Reconnaissance Company • Snipers Platoon • Fire Platoon • Combat Engineer Battalion • Maintenance Battalion • Logistic Battalion • Signal Company • Radar Company • Medical Company • CBRN-defense Company • Brigade Band ==Past commanders==

• Nikolay Mikhaylovich Dreyer – 25 February 1944 – April 1945 • Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Tarnavskiy – temporary commander 2007 ==Decorations==

• Order of Suvorov (removed) • Order of the Red Banner (removed) • 15 individual state medals for valor during the Russo-Ukrainian War == References ==