128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade
The 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Raised in 2024 in Odesa on the basis of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade, it is part of the Southern Operational Command. The brigade is equipped with heavy armour, including Leopard 2 tanks, and has seen combat on the southern front during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine holds more territory than Russia has taken since autumn, pushes back on Gerasimov's Zaporizhzhia claims
In his evening address on October 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory since the start of autumn than Russia has captured, and that the same trend has held in other periods of 2025. He pushed back on claims by Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, asserting that Russian forces are being engaged about 20 km from Zaporizhzhia, not 5 km as Russia claims, and that several named settlements remain under Ukrainian control.