The brigade's history began as 40th Air Assault Brigade in the fall of 1979, formed from elements of the
97th Guards Airborne Regiment of the
7th Guards Airborne Division. Later it was reorganized into the 40th Airborne Brigade between 6 December 1989 and 1 August 1990 (1 June 1990 according to Holm). That redesignation marked the transfer of the brigade from the
Odessa Military District to the
Soviet Airborne Troops. In February 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the brigade went over to Ukrainian control, against the wishes of its commander V. N. Loginov and without Moscow's knowledge. The brigade's soldiers had become frustrated over lapses in food and pay due to Russo-Ukrainian disputes over Soviet military unit upkeep, and decided that shifting to Ukrainian command would end those issues. In September 1993 the brigade was renamed 40th Separate Airmobile Brigade. The 40th Brigade was reorganized and reduced into the 79th Airmobile Regiment. On July 1, 2007, the brigade was formed by combining the 79th Airmobile Regiment with 11th Army Aviation Regiment. In 2014, the brigade took part in the fighting of the
war in Donbas. 54 persons called up for mobilization (and thus serving in the brigade) deserted.
Russian annexation of Crimea and war in Donbas Pro-Russian protesters blocked the unit's base in
Voznesensk on 1 March 2014 and a
platoon of soldiers was sent to reinforce and secure the military equipment located at the facility from looting. The protest was resolved without violent clashes. Other than
Spetsnaz forces of Ukraine, the unit was one of the first to be mobilized during the
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the
war in Donbas by being deployed to the Crimean-Kherson border in order to prevent Russian forces from a possible advance into mainland
Kherson Oblast on 13 March 2014. On March 26 Ukrainian forces secured the Russian Mars-75 naval navigation station located in Kherson Oblast. , July 2014 The unit was deployed to Donbas in May 2014 and fought in a
battle in Shakhtarsk Raion where it held the objective of securing both the Russian border and the strategic
Savur-Mohyla hill. The unit, along with the
72nd Mechanized Brigade became trapped in southern
Luhansk Oblast as pro-Russian forces cut their supply lines from the bulk of Ukrainian force in July. Ukrainian forces attempted to keep the units resupplied delivering 15 tons of supplies through enemy lines to the unit. The 79th Airmobile Brigade was able to break through enemy lines on 7 August 2014 along with much of their equipment, however it was reported that the unit was severely short on ammunition and would likely not be able to continue holding its positions if it did not break through the encirclement. Due to spending a month surrounded by enemy forces the unit was sent back to its home station in order to regroup. The unit was redeployed after a month of
R&R to hold the southern
Donetsk Oblast in the Mariupol and Donetsk regions. In September the unit joined the
3rd Separate Spetsnaz Regiment along with National Guard units in the
defense of Donetsk Airport. Due to their stubborn resistance during the defense of Donetsk Airport they were referred to as "cyborgs". In 2016, after the brigade received a
company of
T-80 tanks, the 79th Airmobile Brigade became 79th Air Assault Brigade.
Russian invasion of Ukraine The main units of the 79th Brigade were in the
Donbas at the onset of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine; only 120 of the brigade's men were stationed at the unit's military base in
Mykolaiv when
the fighting reached that city. The majority of the 79th Brigade was positioned at
Stanytsia Luhanska and
Shchastia in the
Luhansk Oblast at the time. It would later take up the defense of
Trokhizbenka, Raihorodka, Bakhmutivka,
Novoaidar, and
Sievierodonetsk; the brigade was forced to retreat towards Sievierodonetsk in order to avoid encirclement. Dozens of Ukrainian servicemen died in the bombing. In late May 2022, it was reported that units of the brigade were defending the
Holy Mountains National Nature Park south of the city of
Lyman, attempting to prevent Russian forces from crossing the
Siverskyi Donets River. In July 2022, it was reported that units of the brigade had taken part in combat on the
Sloviansk front, near
Sviatohirsk, alongside Ukraine's
81st Brigade. In June 2023,
Valery Sakhashchyk, effective defence minister of the Belarusian
United Transitional Cabinet (a government-in-exile opposed to the de facto government of
Alexander Lukashenko) informed about the creation of the
1st Separate Air Assault Company "Belarus", which is part of the 79th Air Assault Brigade. The Belarusian assault company is located in the Donetsk direction and is the reserve of the commander of one of the separate assault brigades.
Operations in southern Donetsk Oblast (2024–present) Ukrainian commander-in-chief
Oleksandr Syrskyi publicly praised the 79th Brigade in March 2024 for its efforts in repelling Russian attacks on the village of
Novomykhailivka. As of July 2024, the brigade was continuing to defend near Novomykhailivka. On both 24 and 29 July 2024, the brigade repelled two Russian assaults in Donetsk Oblast, with 200 troops and 57 armored vehicles for each assault. They claimed to have destroyed several dozen armored vehicles and to have killed over a hundred Russian soldiers and "leaving more of them wounded". In mid-August 2024, the brigade claimed to have destroyed another Russian column near Novomykhailivka, with the assistance of the
471st Infantry Battalion. On 1 October 2024, the brigade repelled another Russian assault near Kurakhove, destroying 19 units of equipment, including four tanks and two AFVs. 23 Russians were claimed to have been killed, with another 23 wounded. On 17 October it was reported that the brigade was defending the village of
Kostiantynivka. In early November 2024,
David Axe claimed that the 79th Brigade, which he described as "battered", was "barely holding on" to its defensive line in the village of
Illinka south of the city of
Kurakhovo, and speculated that if Illinka fell, Kurakhovo would likely fall as well. Elements fought in the Pokrovsk - Myrnohrad area. ==Structure==