Creation In April 2014, the Head of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, issued an order to form volunteer
battalions from citizens loyal to Ukraine, especially in
Eastern Ukraine. On May 8, 2014, the ministry officially created the "Luhansk-1" battalion from volunteer soldiers to fight in the raging
war in Donbas. When the battalion first created, around 80% were residents of
Luhansk Oblast. According to the commander Artem Vitko, the battalion had only light arms in the early months, and only had basic equipment such as
pistols,
submachine guns, and
light machine guns. In September, the battalion's equipment improved, adding weapons such as the
RPG-7,
AGS-17, and even
BRDM-2 armored vehicles. Later on August 27, "Luhansk-1" was part of a military operation to clear areas in
Slovianoserbsk Raion, killing in total an estimate of 40 enemy soldiers. On September 4, public activists donated an
armored vehicle to the battalion to support their operations. On September 8, the battalion captured enemy positions near the city of
Pervomaisk. On October 31, the battalion announced the search for Mykhailo Porechenkov because of his efforts in helping
pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. On May 20, 2020, Colonel Serhii Gubanov, the commander the battalion, received shrapnel wounds due to enemy shelling. He died while on the way to a hospital, near the village of
Trokhizbenka. In September 2020, the personnel of the battalion was called up due to fires from enemy shelling in
Luhansk Oblast.
Russian invasion of Ukraine On February 24, 2022, the
Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The city of
Shchastia, where the battalion was stationed in, immediately came under attack. However, their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the city was soon occupied. The battalion then moved to near the city of
Severodonetsk to continue fighting. They also fought in nearby
Kreminna and
Rubizhne, before both also fell into Russian control. Following eventual Ukrainian defeats at the battles at
Severodonetsk and
Lysychansk, the battalion was again redeployed, this time to help Ukrainian forces in the
Battle of Bakhmut. By September 2022, the battalion helped carry out the hugely successful
Kharkiv counteroffensive, capturing villages including
Balakliya,
Verbivka,
Novoselivka, and
Stelmakhivka. In March 2023, the Luhansk-1 Battalion became part of the
Liut Brigade. Then in October, the battalion was expanded into a
regiment, gaining the current name
Luhansk Assault Regiment. On December 28, 2023,
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the work of the
Liut Brigade, which the regiment is a part of. He specifically praised lieutenant Ivan Krotov and captain Mykhailo Glavatskyi for their battlefield bravery. In the spring of 2024, the regiment were part of the Ukrainian forces defending the city of
Chasiv Yar against Russian assaults. == References ==