10th Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss"

 

The brigade was formed on 30 October 2015 in Koloymia, part of Operational Command West. It included the 24th Separate Assault Battalion, the former Aidar Battalion.^[1] The brigade's first commander was Colonel and Hero of Ukraine Vasyl Zubanych, a former battalion commander in the 128th Mechanized Brigade. In an interview at the time, Zubanych stated that the brigade would be deployed to the Donbas if necessary in a war with Russia.^[2] The main purpose of the brigade at the time was to protect Northern Bukovina from Romanian territorial claims.^[3][4] The first group of recruits were 1,000 volunteers on a contract basis. There initially was a 25% pay increase offered to recruits, as recognition of their status as mountain troops.^[5] In January 2016, it was reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence that the brigade was ready to begin combat training.^[6] As of January 2016 the brigade was stationed at Bila Tserkva pending completion of new barracks in Kolomyia.^[7] In February 2016, it was decided by the Ukrainian Ground Forces to form a new Bukovina mountain battalion at Chernivtsi. The 8th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion^[8] and the 46th Separate Special-Purpose Battalion "Donbas-Ukraine" also became part of the brigade.^[9] The 8th Motorized Infantry, the 24th Assault, and the 46th Separate Special Purpose Battalion formed the entirety of the brigade, consisting of a few thousand men