Two Mountain Brigades—One Russian, One Ukrainian—Are Rolling Toward Each Other In Flat Southern Ukraine

Southern Ukraine is a flat, open expanse of farms crisscrossed by rivers. There are no mountains there. But a pair of mountain brigades—one Russian, one Ukrainian—have found themselves on the southern battlefield, far from the slopes and peaks they trained to fight on.

The Ukrainian 128th Mountain Brigade and the Russian 34th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade might not be in their element. But they still are some of the most powerful formations in southern Ukraine. And they’re heading for a possible confrontation.

The 128th Mountain Brigade is one of several Ukrainian brigades leading Kyiv’s southern counteroffensive, which kicked off in late August following months of preparatory bombardment. The 34th Motor Rifle Mountain Brigade for its part is one of the more intact brigades in the Russian 49th Combined Arms Army, the main field army occupying Kherson Oblast on the Black Sea coast.

Photos and videos circulating on-line indicate the 128th MB recently liberated the village of Chervone, 50 miles northeast of Kherson. The 34th MMRB meanwhile has been spotted around Sadok, 15 miles west of Chervone. The 128th MB is driving south, aiming to push Russian forces across the Dnipro River and out of the oblast. The 34th MMRB is trying to slow the Ukrainian push.

The 128th MB and 34th MMRB aren’t the only brigades in the south. And it’s not inevitable that they’ll directly clash. But it’s worth comparing their strengths and weaknesses as the Ukrainian counteroffensive develops and winter looms. The coming weeks should be wet and cold, conditions that could slow operations on both sides of Russia’s eight-month-old wider war on Ukraine.

What happens in coming days—specifically with the two mountain brigades—could set conditions for the second year of the war starting early next year, when forecasters expect the winter mud will freeze, allowing tanks and fighting vehicles to wake from their hibernation.

The 34th MMRB formed in 2007. The brigade with its three front-line battalions and roughly 1,000 soldiers is a specialist formation. Trainees practice climbing mountains, driving their MT-LB and BTR-80 vehicles on rocky slopes and substituting mules for tracked vehicles on the roughest terrain.

But in Ukraine, the 34th MMRB is fighting on flat, open terrain. Worse, the brigade now includes a contingent of unhappy Ukrainian separatists. The brigade’s morale reportedly bottomed out following a Ukrainian artillery strike in late July that destroyed the unit’s command post. The 34th MMRB temporarily refused to go into battle, according to the Ukrainian military’s Southern Operational Command.

Today the 34th MMRB is back in action in Kherson Oblast. When the Ukrainians attacked in late August, the Russian mountain brigade fell back, leaving behind at least a few of its vehicles. Last week, the 34th MMRB made a stand near Sadok. One recent photo depicts brigade troopers piled atop an MT-LB.

At the same time the 34th MMRB was fighting in Sadok, the 128th MB was blowing up at least one Russian Ural truck, a BTR fighting vehicle and a T-62 tank in Chervone … and liberating the village.

The 128th MB like its Russian counterpart normally trains for mountain operations. After completing grueling training on the high, cold peaks of southwestern Ukraine, 128th MB troopers earn a unique gray beret. Also like the 34th MMRB, the 128th MB with its four front-line battalions—each with hundreds of soldiers—is far from its natural environment.

Still, the brigade’s toughness has served it well on the open terrain of Kherson Oblast. In addition to liberating a string of villages on the right bank of the Dnipro, the brigade in recent weeks also has shot down at least one Russian attack helicopter.

But if the two mountain brigades do battle in mountain-less southern Ukraine before the winter mud glues them in place, logistics—not the vigor of individual soldiers—might determine the winner.

Ukrainian forces on Oct. 7 badly damaged the Kerch Bridge, the main rail span connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to Russia proper. This and other strikes on bridges around southern Ukraine have choked the Kremlin’s ability to resupply the 49th CAA and its brigades around Kherson.

That is to say, the 34th MMRB might soon begin to starve. Which, even more than unfavorable terrain or any soldier-on-soldier mismatch, could put it at a disadvantage in a direct fight with the better-supplied 128th MB.