About 3rdArmy Corps

AndriyBiletsky

Commander of the 3rd Army Corps

Founder and first commander of the "Azov" Regiment (formerly known as the "Black Men").
Founder of the Azov Special Operations Detachment and active participant in the battles for the liberation of the Kyiv region.
Commanded the liberation of Mariupol in 2014.
Organized operations to break the blockade of Mariupol.

Initiated and commanded operations to liberate Shyrokyne and several settlements in Donetsk region in 2015.
Initiated the "Don't Panic! Get Ready!" mass training events campaign for civilians before the full-scale invasion.
Founder of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade and commander of Tactical Group "A" during the defense of Bakhmut.
Commander of the 3rd Army Corps since March 2025.

2006

The history of the Third Army Corps begins long before the full-scale war. Its core was formed in the mid-2000s, when the current commander of the 3rd AC, Andriy Biletsky, created the "Patriot of Ukraine" organization in Kharkiv. It was a nationalist structure engaged in physical training and ideological education of young people. Even then, the organization's members were preparing for war with Russia, when society did not yet consider such a turn of events. During that period, a team of future commanders and instructors gathered around Biletsky, who would later become the core of units fighting in 2014–2022.

2013

During the Revolution of Dignity, "Patriot of Ukraine" and other nationalist organizations joined the protest movement's force wing—the "Right Sector". For many future 3rd AC commanders, this was a period of real street action, organizing the defense of the Maidan, and managing hundreds and shifts. Here they honed coordination, discipline, leadership under stress, and readiness for armed struggle in the future.

2014

Black Corps

At the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, on the night of February 28 to March 1, 2014, Andriy Biletsky formed the Black Corps partisan unit (the so-called "black men") on the basis of "Patriot of Ukraine". Their decisive actions were a key factor in preventing the "Russian spring" in Kharkiv.

The unit neutralized the base of anti-Ukrainian forces—the "Oplot" club, which at the time served as the main hub for pro-Russian separatists in the city.

The Black Corps also defended the Kharkiv regional state administration, preventing the declaration of the so-called "KhNR".

On March 15, in central Kharkiv on Rybarska, the unit took part in the first armed clash of the Russo-Ukrainian war and suppressed attempts by pro-Russian forces to stage a coup in Kharkiv Oblast.

Azov

On May 5, on the basis of the "black men" unit, Andriy Biletsky founded the Azov Battalion and became its first commander. The unit carried out a series of successful operations in the Donetsk direction. In summer 2014, Azov liberated Mariupol and Marinka and took part in the battles near Ilovaisk. Within months the unit grew into a regiment and was the first in Ukraine to introduce NATO standards. In winter 2015 the regiment conducted the Shyrokyne offensive. As a result, five settlements (Shyrokyne, Berdianske, Lebedynske, Kominternove, and Pavlopil) were liberated and the frontline was pushed back from Mariupol.

2022

Territorial Defense "Azov"

On February 24, in the first hours of the full-scale invasion, Andriy Biletsky formed the Territorial Defense "Azov" unit, whose core consisted of veterans and volunteers hardened by the 2014–2022 war. The unit defended Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, conducting raids in the areas of Hostomel, Irpin, Bucha, and Vorzel.

Together with the Armed Forces near Brovary at the village of Skybyn, the fighters set an ambush and destroyed a column of the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Tank Division of the Russian army. The Russians lost almost an entire regiment, and its commander, Colonel Zakharov, was killed. The invaders stopped their advance on Kyiv and retreated in haste.

SSO "Azov"

On March 9, 2022, the unit was expanded into the "Azov" OPSF as part of the Armed Forces. It was later reformed into the Azov SSO.

In March, the unit's fighters took part in an air assault into besieged Mariupol. During the operation, helicopters managed to deliver 72 fighters into the enemy-encircled city, bring in weapons and medicine, and evacuate the seriously wounded.

Later the unit fought in the Zaporizhzhia direction, liberating Vyshneve and Novodarivka. In November 2022 it joined the Defense Forces' counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast.

2023

3rd Separate Assault Brigade

In January the unit was scaled up to the 3rd Assault Brigade and sent to the most difficult sector of the front—Bakhmut, in the direction of the main strike of the Wagner PMC.

Fighters of the 3rd Assault Brigade staunchly held the defense, repelling the enemy's meat assaults. Thanks to quality training and careful operational planning, the unit carried out a series of offensives before the start of the Defense Forces' 2023 counteroffensive.

In May the 3rd Assault Brigade destroyed the enemy bridgehead on the western bank of the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal and pushed the Russians back from the "Road of Life" to Bakhmut.

During summer and autumn the brigade retook Andriivka and over 20 km² under Ukrainian control, accounting for 10% of the territory liberated by the Defense Forces during the summer counteroffensive.

2024

Adapting to the new realities of war

In 2024 the 3rd Assault Brigade consolidated its status as one of the most progressive units, actively developing its technological component and introducing the latest management and support standards. This period was marked by the opening of its own FPV drone school network, leadership in combat UAV sorties, and later the highest indicators for the use of ground robotic systems in assaults. The brigade was the first to implement full suppression of enemy UAVs across the full depth of the defense zone. Alongside technical development, the unit demonstrated exceptional results in military medicine. The 3rd Assault Brigade achieved the lowest mortality rate among the wounded at stabilization points. It became the only brigade to present its medical support system experience at NATO headquarters level.

All of this allowed the brigade to demonstrate high combat capability at a critical moment in February, when the unit was sent to reinforce Avdiivka. In that hotspot, where Ukrainian forces faced the threat of encirclement, 3rd Assault Brigade fighters held off seven Russian army brigades. After the command's decision to withdraw, the brigade's fighters secured the withdrawal of other units from Avdiivka and left the city last. The 3rd Assault also stopped the enemy breakthrough toward Pokrovsk and liberated Krasnohorivka near Marinka.

From May the 3rd Assault has been defending in Kharkiv Oblast, holding a critical 50 km sector of the front.

In August, during one of the offensive operations, the brigade managed to advance almost 2 km² into the front.

2025

Scaling to the Third Army Corps

At the start of the year the 3rd Assault Brigade repelled two massive mechanized assaults in Kharkiv Oblast, inflicting a tank defeat on the Russians. It liberated the settlement of Nadiia. Brigade fighters set records for destroying enemy UAVs, often ranking first among line brigades of the Ground Forces.

Without ceasing combat on the frontline, in March the 3rd Assault Brigade began deployment as the Third Army Corps. From August, the 53rd, 60th, and 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigades, as well as the 125th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade and part of the Kraken special unit, were placed under its command.

Continuing its role as technological leader in the Armed Forces, the 3rd AC is forming its own unmanned systems regiment and a strike ground robotics company, NC13.

Scaling to the Third Army Corps

After integrating the additional brigades, the 3rd AC is taking part in stabilization and offensive operations on the Borova and Lyman directions. It is responsible for 150 km of the front.

On August 4 the 3rd AC held the Russian advance on the last line of defense of northern Donbas and Kharkiv Oblast.

On August 24 the Third Corps together with the GUR drove the occupiers out of Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast.

On October 24 drones and artillery of the 3rd AC repelled a Russian mechanized assault in Lyman direction.

The Corps' technological achievements on the battlefield reached a new level: the Droid TW 12.7 robotic complex, under remote control by operators, autonomously held a combat position for a month and a half in place of infantry.

2006

2013