The Kyiv Independent – > 189
orig date 2023-09-25 21:53:41
01:01 26-09-2023 
Even months before it started, just the idea of Ukraine’s large-scale counteroffensive in 2023 carried on its shoulders a historic weight.
When the time finally came to move forward, much of this weight of expectation lay on the shoulders of just one brigade. The 47th Mechanized Brigade, held up as a progressive model of the Ukrainian army of the future, was to lead the push south of Orikhiv, heading straight for the key cities of Tokmak and Melitopol.
Formed from scratch a year ago, the brigade often known by the name “Magura," was prepared with the counteroffensive in mind; its soldiers, trained in NATO countries and equipped with superior new Western equipment, were to be the spearhead of the advance here.
Photo: Anastasia Vlasova/Kyiv Independent