Ukraine Stood Up Yet Another Brigade Without Actually Adding Troops
The Ukrainian army builds more empty force structure
Ukraine’s infantry shortage was bad in 2023, worse in 2024, dire in 2025 and, in 2026, so deep and enduring that it’s the main driver of the Ukrainian ground forces’ doctrine and technology.
“Ukraine faces manpower shortage and still does not have a single brigade that is fully manned,” analyst Giorgi Revishvili wrote. So why are the Ukrainians still forming new brigades?
Shrugging off what Militaryland.net’s Jerome Rendall described as “severe manpower and equipment shortages across existing formations,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi recently announced the creation of three new brigades: the 50th, 55th and 167th Mechanized Brigades.
Making matters worse, a fourth new brigade stood up unannounced as recently as this month: the 76th Mechanized Brigade.
