History

On May 3, 2014, an order was issued to create the Aidar territorial defense battalion within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military unit 0624. It was from the second part of the unit number, 0624, that Aidar became the 24th battalion. That same day, the first volunteers arrived in the forests near Polovynkyne (now Tolokivka). Volunteers remained the foundation of the battalion’s formation thereafter.

The first clash with local separatist collaborators took place on May 22, 2014, in Staroobilsk, where collaborators blocked the way for AFU columns. The battalion’s fighters repelled them, unblocked the route for the AFU columns, and detained several provocateurs.

On May 25, 2014, the battalion detained 11 separatists who tried to sabotage the extraordinary presidential election in Novoaidar.

"Aidar" took part in the liberation of Shchastia. With the battalion’s participation, the city came fully under Ukrainian control on June 14, 2014. During the operation, hundreds of militants were killed or wounded. The territory of the Luhansk thermal power plant and two strategically important bridges across the Siverskyi Donets were brought under control.

On June 17 and 18, 2014, the battalion took part in battles for Metalist in Luhansk region, suffering its first combat losses.

On July 15, 2014, in the area of Metalist, battalion fighters discovered and detained 18 terrorists from the "Don" special unit who had been hiding in a camouflaged bunker and guarding a military base.

On July 20, 2014, scouts of Aidar’s "Golden Company" entered the city of Rubizhne and engaged separatists in battle, destroying one armored jeep. After an AFU brigade arrived, the battalion broke through to Sievierodonetsk. Later, the battalion was tasked with relieving the blockade of Luhansk airport.

Between July 20 and 27, 2014, the battalion’s fighters liberated five settlements, three highways, and one railway line. They bypassed the settlements of Oleksandrivsk and Yuvileine from the east and cut them off from militants coming from the Donetsk-Debaltseve-Alchevsk direction. During the fighting, a detachment of the Vostok armed group that controlled the settlement and shelled Luhansk from the local Shakhtar stadium field was eliminated. Under massive fire from separatists, "Aidar" held its ground and waited for support near Yuvileine, then continued the advance toward Heorhiivka. The fighters secured the Luhansk-Lutuhyne highway near the bridge over the Vilkhivka River and relieved the airport. After that, the unit liberated Heorhiivka and cut the important Luhansk-Krasnyi Luch transport artery.

On August 7, 2014, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine announced the creation of an assault unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the basis of the volunteer territorial defense battalion "Aidar" for special operations in the ATO zone.

During August 2014, Aidar fighters took an active part in combat operations in various areas. On August 12, the battalion de-occupied the settlement of Lutuhyne in Luhansk region in battle.

On September 5, 2014, some of the battalion’s fighters were ambushed near Vesela Hora, where they suffered losses in battle against superior enemy forces.

On October 15, 2014, part of Aidar’s "Golden Company" together with its commander was ambushed during a breakthrough to checkpoint 32 in the fighting for Bakhmutka. The company’s fighters inflicted significant losses on the enemy, but the forces were unequal.

By late summer 2015, the battalion had been supplied with artillery and heavy armored vehicles.

In October 2015, near the settlement of New York in Donetsk region, the battalion advanced, de-occupied several kilometers of Ukrainian territory, and reached the outskirts of Horlivka.

At the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, the battalion came under the operational control of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade.

In February 2016, "Aidar" withdrew for recovery to a training ground in Rivne region.

In March 2016, the battalion moved to the Oleksandrivka-Dokuchaievsk line in Donetsk region, where it held a large section of the front and de-occupied 5 to 7 km of territory while advancing toward Olenivka in Donetsk region.

In spring 2017, the unit redeployed to the area of Novoluhanske in Donetsk region.

In November 2017, "Aidar" de-occupied the settlements of Travneve and Hladosove in Donetsk region.

In March 2018, the battalion moved to the outskirts of Zholobok in Luhansk region, advanced to take control of the Bakhmut highway, and inflicted enormous losses on the illegal armed formation "Prizrak" of Russian military intelligence.

In August 2018, the enemy attempted to seize Aidar positions, but the battalion inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, including a commander of a Russian reconnaissance company.

At the end of October 2018, "Aidar" withdrew for rotation and recovery. After that, the unit arrived in Toretsk on the outskirts of Horlivka and improved its positions during active combat, inflicting significant losses on the enemy near the settlement of Leninske (now Pivdenne), creating a serious kill zone for the enemy, and blocking all attempts to derail talks on possible ceasefire terms.

In 2020, "Aidar" withdrew for recovery, after which in spring 2020 it arrived on the Volnovakha axis in the settlement of Starohnativka and improved its positions in battles with the enemy, establishing strong defensive lines.

From May to September 2021 in Lviv region, the battalion participated in the Rapid Trident-2021 international military exercises. About 6,000 servicemembers from 15 countries, including Ukraine and the United States, took part in them to improve interoperability between the AFU and NATO partners.

At the end of 2021, "Aidar" returned to the Volnovakha axis in the settlement of Starohnativka, where it would meet the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

From August 2022, Aidar spent three weeks containing the enemy on the Bakhmut axis around Kadema, where it fought Wagner PMC. After that, the battalion carried out a planned withdrawal to the Optyne-Odradivka-Mykolaivka Druha-Maiorsk road, where it continued fighting Wagner PMC.

In September 2022, "Aidar" withdrew for a month of recovery, and on October 12, 2022, returned to the Bakhmut axis around Kurdiumivka, Klishchiivka, and Optyne, where it carried out the battalion’s largest three-day assault against superior enemy forces: Wagner PMC, the GRU, and special forces, advancing 2 km toward Bakhmut.

From November through the end of December 2022, "Aidar" held the defense of Optyne for an entire month, where Wagner PMC suffered its heaviest losses, after which the battalion was ordered to withdraw and mine the approaches. The enemy’s advance on Bakhmut was stopped. A few days later, Aidar was rotated out, and the enemy resumed attempts to capture Optyne.

From late January 2023, the battalion came under the operational control of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade.

Since January 2023, the battalion has been in the operational reserve, involved in containing the enemy in Mykolaiv region (Volodymyrivka) and Zaporizhzhia region (Komyshuvakha).

In February 2024, by order of the Commander-in-Chief, "Aidar" was moved to the Bakhmut axis in the area of Chasiv Yar and Ivanivske.

In summer 2023, the Aidar battalion, together with airborne troops, conducted clearing operations along the canal near the junction from Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar and Ivanivske. Airborne troops from another AFU brigade continued the canal clearing farther south toward Andriivka, while Aidar de-occupied a significant area from Ivanivske to Klishchiivka with almost no losses.

In spring 2024, during the fighting for Ivanivske, Aidar found itself in an operational cauldron but continued to carry out its missions and hold positions. To preserve personnel, a withdrawal behind the Siverskyi Donets canal was ordered. The battalion held positions behind the canal through the end of 2024, and by late December 2024 the unit partially withdrew from that area.

From February-March 2025, one Aidar tactical group operated in the area of Bakhmut. Another tactical group operated from February-March 2025 in Novopavlivka, Bahatyr, and Ulakly until the end of May 2025.

Another tactical group operated from February-March 2025 in Dvorichna in the Kupiansk area and later continued operating in Sumy region and on the Lyman axis until the end of May 2025.