In August 2014 the brigade's units fought in the Battle of Ilovaisk. On 26 August a column of mixed 8th Mountain Brigade and 31st Air Assault Brigade units was ambushed by a Ukrainian anti-tank artillery squad of the 51st Mechanized Brigade near Mnohopillya village. Three Russian armored vehicles were destroyed (2 MTLB-VMK's and a MTLB-6M). A wounded soldier of 8th Mountain Brigade was captured: Aleksandr Desyatov. A wounded soldier of the 8th brigade was reported being sent to Kiev for medical treatment after his armor vehicle was destroyed in a fight.