win10, after v21.2, When layers of different types are grouped, copied to a new document, and then ungrouped, layer‑remembering functionality will fail.

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There is particularly good reason to suspect a regression because Adobe already broke almost exactly this functionality in InDesign 21.0. Bug ID ID-4272089 caused grouped objects to remain on the group's top layer even with “Ungroup Remembers Layers” enabled. Adobe reproduced it, classified it as a bug, and released a fix in 21.0.1.006.
https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs/suggestions/50641862--id-4272089-grouped-objects-does-not-go-back-to-or?

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I tested this here and I think this is actually an important distinction between Paste Remembers Layers and Ungroup Remembers Layers, rather than necessarily being a bug.

When you group objects that are on several different layers, the resulting group itself is placed on a single layer normally the topmost layer involved in the group. InDesign still remembers internally which layers the individual objects originally belonged to, which is what Ungroup Remembers Layers uses when you later ungroup them.

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However, if you then copy that group into a completely new document which does not contain those original layers, InDesign has nowhere to restore those objects to when the group is ungrouped.

I can reproduce that behaviour.

If I create objects on several layers, group them and paste that group into a new document which does not have the same layer structure, ungrouping does not recreate the original layer arrangement.

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But if I first create the same layers, with the same names, in the destination document and then paste and ungroup the group, the objects return to their correct respective layers.

So the slightly confusing part is the wording of the two commands.

Paste Remembers Layers will preserve/create layers when you copy actual objects that currently reside on different layers. But once those objects have already been grouped, the pasted object is now a single group residing on one layer. The original layers are effectively remembered as information associated with the objects inside the group rather than being active layers that Paste Remembers Layers needs to create.

Ungroup Remembers Layers can then restore those remembered assignments, but apparently only when the corresponding layers already exist in the destination document.

For example:

Document A:

Layer A
Layer B
Layer C

Objects on A/B/C > Group > Copy

Paste into a blank Document B with only Layer 1 > Ungroup = original layer structure is not restored.

But:

Create Layer A/B/C in Document B > Paste the same group > Ungroup = objects return correctly to A/B/C.

So based on that test, I don't think the basic grouping/ungrouping functionality itself is failing in 21.2. It looks more like a limitation of how the remembered layer information inside a group is handled when that group is moved to another document.

It is certainly a little unintuitive given the names Paste Remembers Layers and Ungroup Remembers Layers, but if you create the corresponding layers in the destination first, it appears to behave correctly.

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Just remember:

When you GROUP objects from different layers, the group itself goes onto one layer.

When you UNGROUP them, InDesign restores the objects to their original layers provided those layers exist.

So:

GROUP = one layer
PASTE = still one layer
UNGROUP = restores to the remembered layers, if those layers are available

If you want them to return to the same layers in a new document, those layers need to exist in that document first.