November 3 is the day of engineering troops: how the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "cut" building bridges and crossings

The then President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, signed the corresponding decree, choosing the date November 3. The decree is still valid. It is explained that the decision was taken in order to take into account the merit "in strengthening the defense capability of the state". Focus decided to talk about the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: why they are important and how they were reduced during the 20 years of independence.

Engineer troops are a special type of troops within the Armed Forces, whose duties differ in peacetime and wartime. In peacetime, they are engaged in demining, as well as protection of hydraulic structures (for example, dams) and rescue operations. During the war, they build crossings, arrange fortifications, engage in demining, clear roads of obstacles, escort convoys, demine approaches to enemy positions, etc.

"With our hands and metal, we are creating impenetrable barriers between our troops and the Russian occupiers," the command of the troops said in February 2024. There are units of engineering troops in each brigade of the Armed Forces, and separate units are subordinate to the command of the Support Forces. Among about 16 divisions are engineering, operational support, support, pontoon-bridge, engineering-positional, engineering-mining (brigades, regiments, battalions).

Commander of the Armed Forces Support Forces — Major General Dmytro Gerega (since 2024). By 2014, the engineering troops and support forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were reformed into two measures. The first measure — from 1992 to 2005, the second — from 2005 to 2014. During the first stage of reform, Ukrainian government officials systematically reduced the number of units, explained on the ukrmilitary portal.

This was done in accordance with the Program for the Construction and Development of Engineer Troops as part of the reform of the Armed Forces. The main goal of the program is to optimize the structure in order to get rid of outdated equipment, get new ones, improve the management system and bring the capabilities closer to NATO standards. By 2005, four brigades (engineer-miner, engineer-pontoon) were turned into regiments, that is, they were reduced three times.

It was about units that have special equipment for overcoming water obstacles and for demining. At the same time, the 210th brigade, three regiments and the 80th central ammunition base were disbanded. During the second phase, the government abandoned the movement towards NATO and continued to reduce the number of engineer troops. Among other things, the number of positions was reduced by more than 4,000, according to the article.

There is also a table that shows that the percentage of engineer troops in the structure of the Armed Forces decreased by 6% over 13 years (at the same time, the Armed Forces decreased by 2. 5 times). "Thus, as of December 31, 2013, only three engineer regiments and one pontoon-bridge regiment remained in the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the portal concluded, noting that at the same time the system of training specialists was eliminated.

When the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, the engineering troops joined the defense of the state and began to fulfill the duties assigned to them in wartime. After that, the media no longer wrote about their reduction, but instead informed about the help of the Armed Forces and the equipment provided by Western partners. On the "ArmyInform" portal in 2021, it was reported that engineering units built 1,200 km of fortifications, 252 km of fences, three lines of defense with 270 fortifications.

It is also indicated that they were engaged in demining: they neutralized 140,000 dangerous objects, cleared roads and railways of mines. According to the article, 500 servicemen from the engineering forces received awards for their heroism during the execution of these works.

During the full-scale invasion in 2022, the engineer troops, among other things, helped the soldiers of the Armed Forces during the Kherson and Kharkiv counteroffensive operations, said the commander of the support forces in 2024, Oleksandr Yakovets. In addition, they helped the infantry to withdraw in time and safely from positions in Lysychansk, Severodonetsk.

"It was precisely thanks to the actions of the pontoon-bridge units that the combat effectiveness of the units and the lives of the personnel were actually preserved," he said. In 2023, the engineering troops actively mined the northern borders of Ukraine for 10 days: they laid 5,500 mines, reported Serhii Nayev, the then commander of the United Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, 1. 5 thousand km of trenches, 3.

5 thousand km of anti-tank ditches were dug, shelters and firing positions were set up. Another area of ​​work of the engineering troops is the construction of pontoon crossings. This was announced by the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fall of 2023, showing footage of military training. What kind of equipment is used by the engineering troops? Western partners in aid packages from 2022 to 2024 provided Ukraine with special equipment that went to the engineering troops.

For example, packages from the German Bundestag included Pionierpanzer 2A1 Dachs clearance vehicles and WISENT 1 demining vehicles. In addition, Norway provided an NM189 Ingeniørpanservogn mine clearance vehicle and Japan a Morooka PC-065B fortification construction vehicle. November 3, 2025 is the Day of the Engineer Forces, when it is possible to celebrate the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which "dig the ground and pour concrete to provide our soldiers with the best protection.