Thanks to improved training of fighters, reforming staff work, and establishing communication between commanders and personnel, the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Mstislav the Brave has achieved one of the lowest rates of unauthorized abandonment of units (AWOL) among all units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
This was stated by head of the unmanned systems battalion of the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Mstislav the Brave Yehor Shcherbyna, commenting on the changes that took place in the brigade as a result of integration into the system of the Third Army Corps.
"As for AWOL, as of now, our brigade holds a leading position in the AFU with the lowest rate of unauthorized abandonment. How did we achieve this? First of all, it is direct training and clear setting of tasks. The fighters have a clear understanding, and they prepare for this psychologically and physically. Next is adaptation afterward. And with us, every serviceman has communication with the battalion commander," he said at a press conference in Kharkiv.
Speaking directly about the drone component, Shcherbyna stated that the brigade has entered the top 30 most effective units.
"And at the moment, we have good results at the tactical and, in some cases, even operational levels in terms of the fact that the drone component can currently maintain continuous control of the drone component up to 5 kilometers and control of the enemy up to 10 kilometers," he noted.
The head of the unmanned systems battalion also reported that from the tactical-operational level, there are already results regarding the flight range of their equipment, namely flying as far as Kreminna, which will make it possible to control logistics there in the future.
Shcherbyna also emphasized that the position of battle captain introduced in the Third Army Corps "carried out a fundamental reform in combat command at all levels."
"At the moment, decisions are first made horizontally, they are already implemented into life, and then in parallel, the higher headquarters is informed about how this will be carried out. And the management of the brigade itself and the battle captain of the brigade no longer make decisions for the battalions, but at their own level support our forces," the head of the unmanned systems battalion explained.
In general, according to him, if we compare the 66th brigade a year ago and now, "frankly, these are almost two different units – changes for the better."
As reported, the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 120th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, and the 3rd Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine are integrated into the system of the Third Army Corps, which accepted the brigades and fully deployed into combat formations a year ago.
As previously reported in the Corps, in the Luhansk direction, units of the 3rd Assault, 60th, 63rd, and the attached 66th brigades hold the last line of defense and restrain the offensive of Russia’s 20th Army, 1st Tank Army, and 25th Army.
