About the military unit
Founder Andriy Malakhov commanded four battalions during his service. Andriy Malakhov, a former soldier of the 3rd Regiment of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, who led the 518th Special Operations Battalion since its creation in 2022.
As part of the 1st Special Purpose Brigade, later reorganized into the 1st Territorial Defense Brigade, Malakhov's battalion participated in numerous important battles, including the offensive in Kherson and the counteroffensive in Kharkov.
Andriy Malakhov recently began creating a new unit, the 153rd Reconnaissance and Assault Battalion. The battalion, part of the 12th Army Corps, includes many former members of the disbanded 518th Battalion.
"I involve people with whom I have fought. These are soldiers from the Special Operations Forces, as well as from volunteer battalions," Malakhov explained. According to him, the unit will focus mainly on using modern technologies to maximize the protection and effectiveness of personnel.
"We are not going to reinvent anything, because we have already tested these methods. We will apply what we know and refine it," Malakhov added.
Video request
Collection
We are raising money to purchase a Volkswagen T5 or T6 or similar car. The car will be used for transportation of the defenders, equipment, In addition, an Off road motorbike is needed for being able to move quickly to other positions, conduct reconnaissance, quick delivery of supplies and medicines in hard to reach locations, and quick anticipation of change of conditions in off road areas....
Target amount off road motorcycle: $2,500
Target car amount: $6,700
Total: $9200 (380000UAH)
Donate
Donor box (different currencies and payment methods)
https://donorbox.org/153rd-separate-reconnaissance-strike-battalion
PayPal: parhomik.irina1985@gmail.com
Monobank (UAH): https://send.monobank.ua/jar/3JEFzxRkPh
Patches
This recently established unit does not yet have patches available for raffle. Instead, on September 6, 2025 NAFO patches were offered for sale from Petra's collection. This raised $500, which was added to the donations collected.
Signed flag
An autographed flag will be raffled off for the car and off road motorcycle fundraiser. For every donation of $25, you will receive one ticket. For a donation of $50, you will receive two tickets, and so on. After reaching the target amount, one winner will be drawn by using platform https://www.randompicker.com/
Financial report
The following tracks the progress of the fundraiser.
| DESCRIPTION | PayPal Donorbox ($) | Monobank (₴) |
| Beginning balance Donor box page 4 Sept.2025 | — | — |
| Opening balance PayPal Sept. 4, 2025 | 89 | |
| At: Sept. 5, 2025 ($10 PayPal + $330 Donor Box) | 340 | |
| At: Sept. 6, 2025 ($322 PayPal + $48 Donor Box + 7090UAH Monobank) | 370 | 7090 |
| At: Sept. 7, 2025 ($222 PayPal + 1527UAH) | 222 | 1527 |
| At: Sept. 8, 2025 (+ 777UAH) | — | 777 |
| At: Sept. 9, 2025 (+ $15 + 0 UAH) | 15 | — |
| At: Sept. 10, 2025 (-) | — | 2349 |
| At: Sept. 11, 2025 (+$6 + 3280UAH) | 6 | 3280 |
| At: Sept.12, 2025 | 104 | 1250 |
| At: Sept.13, 2025 | 105 | 2200 |
| TOTAL AMOUNT COLLECTED ($1702 / 70000UAH) | 1251 | 18473 |
USD -> UAH exchange rate: ~ 41.2242
Photos
Team
Irishka
Irishka is the point of contact for the units and assesses whether an application can be processed. She also looks for a good deal for purchases and settles payment.
Petra
Petra is partnered with Irishka. Petra is active on Twitter, Irishka on Facebook. Together, a better result is achieved.
