HISTORY OF FORMATION
The 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a professional military unit within the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The 7th Rapid Response Corps has united under a single command both new formations and units with many years of combat history and glorious traditions. This has strengthened the units’ ability to perform the most difficult tasks in the most difficult areas of the front.
The 7th AAF Corps bases its work on the philosophy of “tech airborne”, which allows it to implement modern solutions at all levels – from training to planning and conducting combat operations.
- 1979
- 1993
- 1999
- 2002
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2019
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- 2025
- 2026
Formation of the brigade in Mykolaiv.
In 1993-2013 – the state involved various units of the brigade in international peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the United Nations.
The 25th Airborne Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division began to form on the basis of the 217th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 98th Guards Airborne Division.
Paratroopers of the 79th Brigade have participated in several peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Iraq, Liberia and the countries of former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro).
The President of Ukraine presented the 25th Airborne Brigade with a Battle Flag. It was received by the 5th commander of the brigade, Colonel Ihor Vasyliovych Luniov.
The brigade was transferred to the 6th Guards Army Corps from the 1st Airborne Division.
It was one of the most capable military formations in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The brigade’s reconnaissance unit, which was training in Crimea, was blocked by Russian occupiers. However, the brigade was later able to reach mainland Ukraine with its weapons and equipment.
Units of the brigade took part in the battles for Sloviansk, and later, on various sections of the front in eastern Ukraine: Savur-Mohyla, Marynivka, Zelenopillia.
Among the first to be put on alert to repel the Russian aggression. The unit, formed from contracted servicemen, was deployed near Chaplynka – on the isthmus leading to Crimea.
The 79th Brigade’s paratroopers broke out of the enemy encirclement in which they had been trapped for several weeks on the Ukrainian-Russian border.
A tragic page in the brigade’s history. The Il-76 aircraft approaching the Luhansk airport was shot down by “LNR” terrorists using an “Igla” MANPADS. Forty paratroopers and nine crew members were killed.
Participation in the defense of Donetsk Airport. For this, the soldiers of the 79th Brigade were nicknamed “cyborgs”. They became the prototypes for the characters in Serhii Loiko’s book “Airport”, who spent four days with the defenders at their positions and took photos that were seen around the world.
The beginning of combat operations. Battles for Donetsk Airport, defense of Opytne, Vodiane, and Debaltseve.
The brigade participated in the liberation of Sloviansk, Krasnyi Lyman, Iampil, Zakytne, Vuhlehirsk, Oleksandrivske, Olkhovatka, Bulavynske, and fought in the battles for Donetsk Airport.
Participation in the defense of Donetsk Airport and adjacent areas. Defense of Opytne and Vodiane.
Battles for Debaltseve.
Combat missions near Zaitseve, fairly close to Horlivka.
Fighting in the Svitlodarsk Bulge.
The servicemen of the 90th Airmobile Battalion of the 81st Brigade held the defense in the Maryinka district of the Donetsk region.
The brigade held positions in the Luhansk region for over seven months.
Participation in operations to liberate the Kyiv region, the village of Moshchun, the landing in Enerhodar, operations on Zmiinyi Island, in Zaporizhzhia region, in particular in the settlements of Stepove, Shcherbaky, Mali Shcherbaky, as well as in the campaign in the Kherson region, battles in the area of the Maiorsk checkpoint in the Donetsk region, near the settlements of Lyman, Iampil, and Kreminna.
The President noted the brigade’s achievements in the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region near Balakliya.
At the time of the full-scale invasion, the brigade was defending the Luhansk region: near Shchastia and Stanytsia Luhanska, on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets river.
The brigade stood firm in defense of Ukrainian settlements and participated in several defensive and offensive operations. Various units of the 81st Brigade operated in Sumy, Drobyshev, Huliaypole, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Izium, Dolyna, Bogorodychne, and Sviatohirsk.
The beginning of the historical path of the 78th Regiment, when patriotic young men and women united during the full-scale invasion of the Russian occupation forces. After gaining combat capability, it became one of the consolidated units of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
Preparation for the formation of the brigade. Creation of battalion command and headquarters.
Soldiers from the 79th Brigade carried out a successful operation that took the Russians by surprise, crossing to the left bank of the Siverskyi Donets river at night and capturing a bridgehead. This paved the way for the future Kharkiv counteroffensive.
November 2022 – the brigade took part in battles on the Kherson axis and the liberation of the right bank of the Kherson region.
Parts of the brigade took part in the liberation of Izium.
They were the first to enter Lyman during the Kharkiv counteroffensive. During the gruelling battles to liberate the Donetsk region, the 81st Brigade took control of Sviatohirsk, the villages of Bohorodychne, Novoselivka, Iarova, Shandryholove and Oleksandrivka in early September 2022.
The official establishment of the military unit.
During the counteroffensive in Slobozhanshchyna, the 25th Airborne Brigade liberated the left bank of the Oskil River and the northwestern regions of the Luhansk region.
The brigade took part in battles on the Kherson axis and the liberation of the right bank of the Kherson region.
Defense of settlements on the Siversk axis. Currently, the brigade is fighting the enemy around Hryhorivka and Serebrianka.
The brigade held back the enemy in the Donetsk region – on the Kurakhove and Novopavlivka axes.
Defense of Soledar. The President of Ukraine commended the brigade for holding its positions in the city and inflicting “significant losses” on the enemy.
the brigade’s “baptism of fire”. The paratroopers of the 77th Brigade launched an offensive and repelled an unsuccessful enemy attack in Bakhmut.
For 11 months, the brigade fought in the Bakhmut, Kromove, Berkhivka, and Yahidne areas.
The training and combat detachment was reformed into the 78th Air Assault Regiment of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It included representatives of the following units and groups: “Kaifaryky”, “Avanhard”, “Molot”, “Seneca”, “Karpatska Sich” (T. Deiak’s), “Safari”, 131st Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces, “Dyke Pole”, the 10th and 128th Mountain Assault Brigades.
Participation in a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.
Is the official date of its creation.
It included all airborne assault and airmobile brigades, an artillery brigade, separate tank companies, a regiment and a command battalion. However, these units were not actually subordinate to each other.
17.07.2023 Day of the creation of the 7th corps.
The core of the corps command took part in holding back Russian occupiers along the Vuhledar and Kurakhove axes.
Participation in battles in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
Following reorganization, the units of the 77th Airmobile Brigade have carried out combat missions on the outskirts of the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.
Participation in the battles for Kupiansk. During the most active phase of enemy operations, the paratroopers managed to destroy more than 100 pieces of equipment in a month.
The brigade is holding back the enemy’s advance on the Pokrovsk axis.
The regiment operates along the border between the Sumy and Kursk regions
Paratroopers of the 77th continued to hold the line on the Slobozhansky axis.
The corps was involved in organizing the defense in the Novopavlivka and part of the Pokrovsk axes. Thanks to successful management decisions, it was possible to prevent the enemy from implementing its plan to break through the administrative border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, which had been under pressure for several months.
A new chapter in the history of the 7th Corps. As part of the reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some of the units of our formation were transferred to the newly established 8th Corps, AAF AFU. At the same time, the 7th Corps began strengthening its capabilities to create a full-fledged formation.
The 7th Corps began to carry out tasks in perhaps the hottest area – the defense of Pokrovsk. At the same time, some of the subordinate brigades continued to carry out combat tasks in various areas of the front.
The brigade was established.
he 132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine became part of the 7th Corps. During the full-scale invasion, the battalion distinguished itself in numerous operations in Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In 2024, it proved itself during an offensive operation on the territory of Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
In the Kupiansk sector, the 77th Separate Airmobile Brigade thwarted an enemy attempt to launch an assault using the Soyuz gas transmission pipeline. The threat was detected in time, and the elimination of at least 40 enemy troops was confirmed.
The 237th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion has been established. This unit actively employs drones for reconnaissance and target engagement, ensuring unified operational standards and analytics, which significantly increases combat effectiveness on the frontline.
SUPPORT THE CORPS
Charitable organization “International Charitable Foundation
“7th Corps of Airborne Assault Troops”