3rd Army Corps (Ukraine)

The 3rd Army Corps (Ukrainian: Третій (3-й) армійський корпус, abbreviated as 3 АК^[5]) is a Corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in 2025.^[6][7] The corps is led by colonel Andriy Biletsky, the founder and first commander of both the Azov Battalion and the 3rd Assault Brigade.^[8][9]

3rd Army Corps
Ukrainian: 3-й/Третій армійський корпус
Founded	14 March, 2025
Country	Ukraine
Allegiance	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Ground Forces
Type	Corps
Role	Mechanized Infantry
Size	20,000[1]
Garrison/HQ	Kyiv
Engagements	Russia–Ukraine war Kupiansk front Lyman front
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col. Andriy Biletsky Lt. Col. Maksym Zhorin[2] Dmytro Kukharchuk[3] Rodion Kudriashov [uk][4]

History

Formation

In February 2025, amid a large restructuring within the Ukrainian military which introduced the corps structure above the brigade level, it was reported that the 3rd Assault Brigade would form the nucleus of a new corps.^{[10][11][12][13]}

On 14 March 2025, colonel Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, officially announced the formation of the 3rd Army Corps under his command.^{[10][13][14][15]} The corps began operating the same month.^[5][16]

Operations

On 23 March, it was reported that units of the corps, primarily the 3rd Brigade's 1st Assault Battalion, had restored Ukrainian control over the village of Nadiia, located on the border of the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.^[17][18]

In May, Ukrainian military journalist Yurii Butusov [uk] wrote that once all the bureaucratic processes relating to the formation of the corps were completed, it would be able to deploy its forces to stabilize the Kupiansk and Lyman fronts.^[19][20]

According to Butusov, on 4 June, amid an "extremely critical situation" on the front, the transition to the corps command system was implemented, and the entire 120-kilometre (75 mi) line held by the constitutent units of the 3rd Army Corps was formally placed under Biletsky's command.^[21][22][23] This included the areas of responsibility of two Ukrainian brigades where the Russians had managed to advance significantly during the first half of 2025.^[24][25]

In late July, Butusov credited Biletsky with establishing order and improving the situation on the front and repelling the offensives of Russia's 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies, supported by units of the 1st Guards Tank Army.^[24][26][27] In an early August interview, lieutenant colonel Maksym Zhorin said that the 3rd Army Corps had managed to stop the offensive operations of Russia's 20th Combined Arms Army and 22nd Army Corps, claiming that on certain sections the front, the Russians had been pushed back 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi).^[2][28][29]

In August, it was reported by various outlets that the corps held between 120 kilometres (75 mi) and 150 kilometres (93 mi) of the front line between the cities of Lyman (Donetsk region) and Borova (Kharkiv region).^[30][31][32] In an interview with The Times in the same month, Biletsky said that he was responsible for more than one-tenth of the active front line in Ukraine, and that after taking command of the Lyman front, his corps had managed to almost entirely halt Russian advances in the sector.^[33][34] He also said that the corps was "motivated by a strong nationalist ideology".^[1][35]

Structure

In May 2025, Biletsky announced that the 3rd Army Corps would consist of five brigades, including mechanized brigades, assault brigades, and one heavy mechanized brigade.^[10][36][37]

• 3rd Army Corps
  • Corps Headquarters
    • Management
    • Commandant Platoon
  • 3rd Assault Brigade
  • 4th Medical Battalion
  • 25th Anti-Tank Battalion
  • 53rd Mechanized Brigade
  • 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 60th Mechanized Brigade^[38]
  • 63rd Mechanized Brigade
  • 21st Regiment of Unmanned Systems
  • Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
  • 122nd Communications Battalion^[39][40]
  • 125th Heavy Mechanized Brigade
  • Repair and Restoration Batallion
  • Support Battalion^[41][42]
  • Technical Intelligence Unit^[43]
  • 311th Electronic Warfare Company
  • 525th Security and Maintenance Battalion

Equipment

In July, the 3rd Army Corps received 42 new Patria six-wheeled armored personnel carriers from Latvia, at a ceremony involving Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa and corps commander Biletsky, who said that the APCs were the best and possibly the most modern that his unit had ever operated.^{[44][45][46][1]}

In a May interview, Oleh Romanov, second-in-command of the Unmanned Systems Regiment, said that the regiment used Mavic and Autel multirotor drones as well as Shark and FlyEye unmanned reconnaissance aerial vehicles.^[47]

Notes