I had made a map to the partial order of battle and the location of deployment of the various units.

To this we have to add, on the Ukrainian side, the 3rd Mechanized Battalion of the 47th Mech Brigade, the 45th Separate Rifle Battalion (which is in the 47th Brigade’s defense area) and probably a tank battalion of the 1st Tank Brigade. We also have indications that elements of the 116th Mech Brigade (not to be confused with the 116th TDF Brigade, which had been part of the Avdiivka’s garrison since before the offensive began) were transferred from the Orikhiv sector (where they were replaced by the 23rd Mech Brigade) to the urban area of Avdiivka, following the brigade’s UAV unit (Khorne Group). There are rumors that units of the 67th Mech Brigade were deployed in the 47th Brigade’s defense area, but I never had a chance to confirm this. There is also at least a detachment of the 8th SOF Regiment.

On the Russian side, since I made the map (which ignores the units of the Cossack Volunteer Assault Corps and Spetsnaz GRU detachments), it should be noted that in late November the 30th Motorized Brigade of the Central Military District was committed in the direction of Stepove, while the 9th Motorized Regiment of the Baltic Fleet would have arrivered in the rear of that flank as a reserve.

Almost all the new brigades formed in early 2023 have been deployed, in both hot and relatively hot sectors. It must be said that, counting the five new mechanized brigades formed in October, there are a dozen new brigades that have yet to be deployed and about which there have been no updates for a long time.

I will try to make a list of the new brigades formed in early 2023 that have not been deployed yet. Of course I could be wrong, but I follow this closely so I think to have some insight about the issue.

88th Mechanized Brigade. In the spring it had received Panthera T6 and HMMWV IMVs and RBS 70 MANPADS. Then there was no more news about it, except (false) rumors that it was near Kupyansk. Last week, after a media silence of months and months, the brigade’s Telegram channel (I think it may be the official one, the link to the channel is on the brigade’s Facebook page) posted an interview with a handful of POWs from the Russian 70th Motorized Regiment of the 42nd Motorized Division (thus, Robotyne/Novoprokopivka area), putting the 88th Brigade’s logo at the beginning and writing they had been captured by units of the brigade. I am waiting for further confirmation. Since late October the (new) 33rd and 23rd Mech Brigades, which had been inactive since early summer, were brought into action in the same area, so it could mean a major rotation happened in the sector (considering the 47th and likely the 116th were pulled out).

13th Jager Brigade. In May units of this brigade were training in Norway. In the summer it was rumored that it had been deployed along the Russian-Ukrainian state border (I mean in Kharkiv, Sumy or Chernihiv oblasts), but this has not been confirmed. Brigade’s social channels have been inactive for months.

5th Tank Brigade. It has a very troubled history. It was announced several times that it was being formed but then nothing more was heard. In July it should have been activated for real; it’s not clear yet which tanks it’s going to receive. Last week, photos were published showing soldiers from the rifle battalion of this brigade in training.

“Khartiia” Brigade of the Offensive Guard. Last brigade of the OG that has not been deployed yet. Last month it received T-72s and BTR-3s.

In June, the Ground Forces created four brigades (one for each operational command), which were called “reserve rifle”, and then changed their names to “infantry” brigades - a new type of brigade. They are the 141st, 142nd, 143rd and 144th. In early summer the 142nd Infantry Brigade had posted a video showing shelling of Russian positions in the Avdiivka sector, but absolutely nothing has been heard from it ever since. On the 142nd Brigade’s Facebook page a few weeks ago they posted a video of brigade’s personnel in training, and they probably received Kozak IMVs and perhaps BMP-1s. On the 143rd I have no information, it doesn’t even have a Facebook page. The Russians had reported the 143rd being in the northern flank of Bakhmut some time ago but there was no confirmation to this at all. The 141st in late October had posted on Facebook that it was looking for contract soldiers, and offering good equipment and training abroad to them. I have seen fundraising initiatives and posts for the 144th and a post in September gave it “in the direction of Kherson”, but I have no evidence to confirm this. In general, I believe these brigades are in training. To them we must add the Consolidated Rifle Brigade, made up of volunteer/mobilized ground personnel of the Air Force. It’s in the same exact situation as the 144th Infantry Brigade.

During 2023, too, the Ground Forces created several new separate rifle battalions that are not easy at all to keep track of.

Then there are the five new mechanized brigades created in October (from 150th to 154th). They were raised recently, so I guess they are still in the initial formation phase. The 151st should be the one in the most advanced creation stage. Equipping them will be a huge challenge, though. I imagine they will be equipped partly with Soviet gear (the Ukrainian stock of T-64s and BMP-1s turned out to be larger than previously thought, for instance) and partly with Western gear (Leopard 1A5s, M113s, MRAPs…), I have no idea regarding artillery.

There are a couple of mechanized brigades that were activated just after the invasion that have disappeared since early 2023, namely the 61st and 62nd. Despite the fact that there is evidence that the former received T-72EAs and RM-70 MLRS during the summer. The 101st Brigade for Protection of the General Staff has also disappeared since early 2023.

Several TDF brigades have been in the process of restoration for months (particularly some of the ones involved in the Bakhmut campaign). It might be a problem for them to return to full operational capabilities, as to my knowledge (but I could be wrong), TDF units are made up of volunteers who sign a contract with the TDF unit located in their province - specifically, to TDF went the bulk of the civilians who rushed in as volunteers during the first weeks of the invasion. As for the National Guard, there was a new expansion in October: some regiments were reformed into brigades, some battalions reformed into regiments, and new separate battalions were created.

I haven’t any indication to confirm this and honestly don’t think so, although there may be difficulties in reaching the necessary manpower treshold, given the current huge number of brigades. An instance of this phenomenon was observed with Russian regiments of the Territorial Forces (i.e. those created during the “partial mobilization”), of which it’s not easy to keep track. It’s thought that a few of them were disbanded to replenish losses elsewhere or man new “regular” units. One example is the 1444th Regiment, made up of mobilized from Samara Oblast, one battalion of which fell victim to the GMLRS attacks of January 1 in Makiivka. I remember reading that this regiment had been disbanded and the soldiers assigned to the new 362nd Motorized Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Division of the 20th Army.