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15th Operational Brigade “Kara-Dag” 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”

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About unit

The military unit was established on June 1, 1994, in the village of Shyroke, Zaporizhzhia District, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as the 9th Special Forces Regiment “Cheetah.” Since July 1, 1995, the unit has been based in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Until 2014, the personnel of “Cheetah,” as part of the Internal Troops, were engaged in maintaining public order and guarding strategic facilities. Additionally, between 2000 and 2005, the regiment’s soldiers were repeatedly deployed as part of UN peacekeeping contingents in the Republic of Kosovo.

After the start of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, “Cheetah,” now as a unit of the newly formed National Guard of Ukraine, participated in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO, later Joint Forces Operation). “Cheetah” soldiers carried out combat missions in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, engaging in combat with pro-Russian militants on multiple occasions. During one of the battles on July 16, 2014, Lieutenant Bohdan Zavada, commander of the mechanized special-purpose company, was killed; the regiment was named after him on March 25, 2020.

On February 24, 2022, a full-scale Russian invasion took place. And on that very day, the personnel of the “Cheetah” regiment set out to meet the enemy in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Units of the regiment participated in the defense of Mariupol, Melitopol, Tokmak, Kam’yanske, and Malaya Tokmachka, and later halted the occupiers along the Orikhiv–Kam’yanske line.

On October 27, 2022, the regiment was awarded the honorary distinction “For Courage and Bravery.” On January 15, 2023, the 9th Regiment was reorganized into the 15th Operational Brigade, which was named “Kara-Dag” as part of the “Guard of the Offensive” campaign.

In August 2024, the brigade was redeployed to the Donetsk sector. The Guardsmen defended Selidove, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove. Since early 2025, the brigade has been engaged in combat operations in the Kharkiv region, defending the Kupiansk sector.

On April 15, 2025, the “Kara-Dag” Brigade became part of the newly formed 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine, “Azov.”

Symbols

Ceremonial chevron
Ceremonial chevron
Combat chevron
Combat chevron
Flag
Flag

History

Stage One

1994 - 2014

The unit was responsible for maintaining public order and securing strategic facilities in the Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, Kherson, and Donetsk regions, as well as in the city of Kyiv. Members of the unit were also involved in apprehending criminals and responding to a fire at military depots in Novobohdanivka (Melitopol District, Zaporizhzhia Oblast) in May 2004.

From 2000 to 2005, soldiers of the “Cheetah” regiment carried out combat missions as part of the Ukrainian law enforcement contingent in the UN international mission in the Republic of Kosovo. The personnel of the military unit were repeatedly called upon to participate in the seizure of dangerous narcotics and firearms during vehicle inspections, as well as in the suppression of mass riots accompanied by disorder, looting, and arson.

Stage Two

2014 - 2022

From 2014 until the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, personnel of the 9th Special Forces Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine carried out combat duties in cities across the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as well as at checkpoints and platoon strongpoints of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in those regions.

On July 16, 2014, during a battle near the village of Marynivka in the Amvrosiivka District of the Donetsk Region, Lieutenant Bohdan Oleksiyovych Zavada, commander of a mechanized special-purpose company, died heroically. On July 19, 2014, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. On March 25, 2020, the 9th Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine was named after Lieutenant Bohdan Zavada.

Stage Three

2022 - 2026

Since February 24, 2022, units from the military unit have been participating in the defense of Melitopol, Mariupol, Molochansk, Tokmak, Kamensk, and Malaya Tokmachka. On February 24–27, the Guardsmen arrived in the Vasylivka–Zaporizhzhia and Tokmak–Orikhiv sectors and halted the Russian advance.

Thanks to the use of modern combat methods, during the first six months of the major war, personnel of the 9th Regiment destroyed at least six enemy aircraft (four SU-25s and two K-52 helicopters).

On July 14, 2023, units of the “Kara-Dag” Brigade, in coordination with Ukrainian Armed Forces units, advanced more than 1,700 meters south and southeast along the Melitopol sector with tank support.

Commander

Oleksandr "Bukhgalter" Ryasnyi

Oleksandr "Bukhgalter" Ryasnyi

Colonel

Oleksandr Ryasnyi began his military career in 2011 when he enlisted as a contract soldier.

In 2014, as part of one of the first company-tactical groups—at that time still part of a special operations regiment—he gained his first combat experience, fighting alongside his comrades against a Russian mechanized column that was crossing the border near Amvrosiivka in the Donetsk region.

In 2022, as part of a special operations battalion, he took part in battles for Tokmak, Molochask, and Kam’yanske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

In 2023, during the summer counteroffensive in the Orikhiv direction of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, he was seriously wounded while manning one of the unit’s positions.

After prolonged treatment, rehabilitation, and prosthetics, he returned to active duty.

He rose through the ranks from soldier to battalion commander.

Structure

1st Corps “Azov”
15th Operational Brigade “Kara-Dag”

Vacancies

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