The 1st Presidential Operational Brigade named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko, “Bureviy,” is a combat brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine that has been repelling Russian aggression since 2014. The unit has evolved from the early battles of the anti-terrorist operation to full-scale war, becoming one of the key brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2023, as part of the “Guard of the Offensive” campaign, the brigade was named “Bureviy.”
The brigade’s units took part in battles for Sloviansk, Yampil, Kostyantynivka, Lysychansk, Popasna, Bakhmut, Debaltseve, Vuhlehirsk, and other settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. After the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the brigade defended the Kyiv region, particularly in the areas of Moshchun, Gorenka, and Romanivka, and provided security for strategic facilities in the capital and the region. Subsequently, the units carried out combat missions in eastern Ukraine—in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Bakhmut, and the Serebryansky Forestry. Since 2024, the brigade has carried out missions in the Kupiansk direction, and since December 2025—in the Dobropillia direction as part of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov.”
“Bureviy” is a full-cycle combat brigade. The unit is equipped with tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, mortars, multiple launch rocket systems, air defense systems, unmanned aerial systems, robotic systems, electronic warfare systems, and reconnaissance assets.
On August 23, 2017, the brigade was awarded the honorary title “Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko,” and in 2024, the unit was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor “For Courage and Bravery.”
In 1994, a military unit was formed within the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which became the foundation of the future 1st Special Operations Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The unit carried out missions related to ensuring national security, guarding critical infrastructure, and maintaining law and order.
In the spring of 2014, the first rapid-response battalion was formed from volunteers of the Maidan Self-Defense Forces, with Major General Serhiy Kulchytskyi overseeing its training. On April 5, the battalion’s reservists took the oath of office and departed for eastern Ukraine.
On July 27, the unit was reorganized into the 1st Special Operations Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The brigade became one of the first units of the National Guard to receive heavy armored vehicles and howitzer artillery.
In 2014, the soldiers participated in the liberation of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Lysychansk, and other settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in the battles for Ilovaisk and Mariupol.
In 2015, the brigade carried out combat missions in eastern Ukraine, specifically in the areas of Vuhlehirsk and Debaltseve. Artillery units ensured the defense of the contact line and provided support to Ukrainian forces in forward positions.
In addition to combat operations, the brigade’s units were involved in emergency response, public order maintenance, and security operations in the Kyiv region and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
On August 23, 2017, by decree of the President of Ukraine, the brigade was awarded the honorary title “Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko.”
In the years that followed, the brigade continued to carry out combat missions in the Joint Forces Operation zone, developed its combat capabilities, modernized its equipment, and enhanced the training of its personnel.
From the very first days of the full-scale invasion, the brigade became part of the Kyiv Defense Forces. The Guardsmen secured strategic sites in the capital and the surrounding region, and engaged in combat in the areas of Moschun, Gorenka, and Romanivka, holding back the advance of Russian troops toward Kyiv.
Since the summer of 2022, the brigade’s units have carried out combat missions as part of the “Khortytsia” Joint Forces Operation, defending Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Bakhmut.
In 2023, as part of the “Guard of the Offensive” campaign, the brigade was renamed “Bureviy.”
In the spring, the brigade’s units defended the Bilohorivka area in Luhansk Oblast. Starting in June 2023, the brigade conducted combat operations in the Serebryansky Forest in the Kreminna sector. Infantry, artillery, combat vehicle crews, and aerial reconnaissance systematically destroyed enemy personnel, fortifications, and equipment.
In late 2023, the brigade, together with adjacent units, including the Azov Brigade, carried out successful assault operations in the Serebryansky Forest and improved the tactical position of Ukrainian forces.
In 2024, the brigade was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor of Ukraine “For Courage and Bravery.”
Until the summer, the units continued defensive and offensive operations in the Serebryansky Forest District. From the second half of the year, the brigade carried out combat missions in the Kupiansk direction, repelling Russian assaults and inflicting significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower, equipment, and logistics.
In April 2025, the brigade became part of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov” as part of the reform of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ command structure.
The brigade’s units continued to carry out combat missions in the Kupiansk sector, and from December 2025—in the Dobropillia sector. Operating within a unified area of responsibility as part of the corps allowed for enhanced coordination between units and effective counteraction against enemy offensives in the Donetsk region. The brigade continues to build up its combat capabilities and effectively destroy enemy forces and equipment.
He began his military career in 2012, and since 2014 has participated in combat operations to repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. From the very first days of the full-scale invasion, he led a platoon and later a special-purpose reconnaissance company within one of the brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine. He took part in battles for the Kharkiv region and the Slobozhansky counteroffensive, and carried out combat missions in the Zaporizhzhia sector. In 2023–2024, he fought in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions for the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar, as well as in the Serebryansky Forestry area.
In 2025, he commanded subordinate units during the defense of the Kupiansk sector. From February 2026 to the present, Lieutenant Colonel Grigoryan has led the “Bureviy” Brigade and, together with his subordinates, has carried out combat missions to repel and contain the enemy’s armed aggression in the Dobropillia sector as part of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov.”
He has been awarded the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 2nd and 3rd classes, a commemorative firearm from the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Presidential Distinction “For the Defense of Ukraine,” and the badges “For Valiant Service” and “For Courage in Service.”
