80th Airmobile Regiment (Ukraine)

80th Airmobile Regiment
Sleeve patch of the Regiment
Active	December 19, 1955 -
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Ground Forces
Type	Airmobile
Size	1,600 (2004-2005)
Part of	13th Army Corps[1]
Garrison/HQ	Lviv[2] Ukraine
Motto	Nobody but Us[3]
Equipment	BTR-80[4]
Engagements	Soviet war in Afghanistan Nagorno-Karabakh War Operation Iraqi Freedom 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine[5]
Decorations	Order of the Red Star
Commanders
Commanding officer	Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Kopachynskii[6]
Executive officer	Lieutenant Colonel Ihor Kontenruk[2]
Executive officer	Lieutenant Colonel Valeriy Tarakulov[7]
Insignia
Airmobile Forces insignia
Identification symbol

The 80th Airmobile Regiment (Ukrainian: 80 окремий аеромобільний полк) is an airmobile formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The regiment is part of the 13th Army Corps.^[2]

History

The 80th Parachute-Landing Regiment was formed on December 19, 1955 in the Caucasus Region. It originally formed part of the 104th Guards Airborne Division of the Soviet Airborne Forces whose divisional headquarters was at Kirovabad (now Gyandzha) in the Azerbaijan SSR. Carey Schofield writes that the 104th Guards Airborne Division 'had only two regiments from 1975 to 1980 after the disbandment of the 80th Guards Airborne Regiment in Baku'.^[8] In 1967 for its achievements in training the Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In 1979 the Regiment was relocated to Khyriv in Lviv Oblast,^[9] seemingly, according to Russian sources, as the 39th Air Assault Brigade.^[10] In June 1990 the 39th Air Assault Brigade became the 224th Training Center of the Soviet Airborne Forces. In May 1992 the service men of the unit gave the Oath to protect and serve the Ukrainian people. In 1995 the 224th Training Center of the Soviet VDV was renamed the 6th Separate Airmobile Brigade, which in 1999 was reorganized into the 80th Airmobile Regiment.

Deployments

Soldiers from the Regiment have served in Afghanistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Kosovo,^[11] Sierra Leone, and Iraq.

Almost a third of the Regiment was deployed to Iraq, as the last Ukrainian unit (81st Tactical Group) on May 15, 2005.^[12][13]

Structure

• Headquarters Company^[14]
• 1st Airmobile Battalion^[14]
  • 2nd Airmobile Company^[14]
• 2nd Airmobile Battalion^[14]
  • 5th Airmobile Company^[4]
• 1st Mortar Battery^[1]

Past commanders

• Colonel Ihor Overin^[15] - 2005
• Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Kopachynskii

Awards

• 1967 received the Order of the Red Star^[2]

References