| 174th Rifle Division (I Formation) (1940-42) 20th Guards Rifle Division (1942-45) 25th or 35th Guards Mechanized Division (1950s-57)[1] 37th Guards Tank Division (1957-65) 17th Guards Tank Division(1965-90s) 17th Guards Tank Brigade (1990s-present) |
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|---|---|
| Active | World War II - present |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Branch | Ukrainian Army |
| Type | Brigade |
| Role | Armored |
| Size | ~3,500 |
| Part of | 6th Army Corps (former Soviet 6th Guards Tank Army) |
| Garrison/HQ | Kryvyi Rih[2] Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Tarnavskiy |
The 17th Guards Armored Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Full name of the Brigade is 17th Separate Guards Kryvyi Rih orders of Red Banner and Suvorov Brigade.[3] It was formally known as 17th Guards Tank Division. The Brigade is located in Kryvyi Rih.
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The first 17th Tank Division was formed on the base of 37th light tank brigade. It also included 199th flamethrower and 526 transport battalions. On June 22, 1941 the Division was part of the 5th Mechanized Corps, in the Transbaikal Military District. Beginning June 12, 1941 the division was relocated to Izyaslav, Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
The current unit's history stems from the 174th Rifle Division, which became the 20th Guards Rifle Division in 1942.
The history of the postwar 17th Guards Tank Division traces back to the 20th Guards Rifle Division which was active in 1945. Later it became the 35th[5] Guards Mechanized Division, and by 1957 37th Guards Tank Division. In 1965 the 37th became the 17th Guards Tank Division, a designation it would retain until the fall of the Soviet Union.