From autumn 2022, the artillerymen operated in the areas of the Serebryanske Forestry and Kreminna, providing support to the infantry, engaging enemy personnel and equipment, and holding defensive lines. In March 2023, during the reorganisation as part of the ‘Guard of the Offensive’ campaign, the 1st Howitzer Artillery Division was formed on the basis of the battery, followed by the 2nd and 3rd Divisions in the summer of that year.
Artillery Division 1st Presidential Operational Brigade “Bureviy”
About unit
With the start of the full-scale invasion, the artillery of the ‘Bureviy’ Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard entered a new phase in its combat development. The backbone of this was the howitzer battery, which provided fire support to the brigade’s units in eastern Ukraine.
Symbols
History
The divisions’ combat history began in the summer of 2023 on the eastern front – in the areas of Borova, Bilohorivka, the Serebryanske Forestry and Kreminna.
The battles in the Serebryanske Forestry were of particular significance for the development of the artillery divisions. It was there that the units gained practical experience of operating in difficult terrain, under high-intensity combat conditions and under the constant threat of enemy unmanned aerial vehicles. In these conditions, the artillery became one of the key elements of the brigade’s combat resilience.
During 2023–2024, the units carried out missions in the Lyman, Kreminna and Kupiansk sectors. From September 2024, the combined artillery division operated in the Kupiansk sector, where it secured positions on the left bank of the Oskil River, repelled enemy assaults and helped to stabilise the situation.
In 2025, following the brigade’s incorporation into the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine ‘Azov’, the artillery divisions became part of a broader combat command system. Since January 2026, the unit has been operating in the Dobropillia sector.
Thus, the artillery divisions have evolved from howitzer-artillery batteries into a fully-fledged divisional structure. Their formation took place directly in combat conditions, and the combat experience gained in the eastern sector became the foundation for their subsequent effectiveness, cohesion and resilience.
The divisions are armed with NATO and Soviet-style guns ranging in calibre from 105 to 155 mm. The 1st Division is equipped with the 2P22 ‘Bogdan-B’ towed howitzer, the ‘Bogdan’ self-propelled gun and the D-20 gun-howitzer.
