On December 18, following an interview with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that an agreement had just been reached to form a second combined arms brigade in France.
“I expressed my gratitude to France for preparing a brigade for our army and we agreed to continue this cooperation and prepare an additional brigade,” Mr. Zelensky said. And to specify that “the emphasis would clearly be placed on strengthening air defense capabilities”.
On June 6, Mr. Macron had in fact indicated that France was going to “train, train and equip an entire brigade of the Ukrainian army, […] which represents approximately 4,500 soldiers.”
Then, two months later, the Army mobilized 1,500 of its soldiers within the “Champagne task force” to ensure the training of 2,000 soldiers of the 155th Brigade of the Ukrainian army, called “Anne of Kyiv », in the maneuver camps of “Eastern France”.
“This training meets the needs expressed by the partner. To do this, it is based on feedback from the Russian-Ukrainian front. It is based on a realistic environment, in particular a network of trenches, a combat environment in real conditions and the use of drones,” the Ministry of the Armed Forces then explained.
Before the deputies, in October, the chief of staff of the armed forces [CEMA]General Thierry Burkhard, had defended an approach based on “a logic of coherence combining tactical training with the use of equipment transferred with their support and their supply of ammunition”.
“It is true that this requires a strong commitment from the Army, as well as support: when a French brigade comes to train at the Mailly or Mourmelon camp, it is accompanied by some of its garrison support , which here we must provide. It’s a real tour de force of support, which was perfectly executed,” CEMA said. “There is therefore an impact on activity, but operational military partnerships, instruction and training require know-how, which must be mastered,” he concluded.
Equipped from head to toe, including 18 AMX-10RC, 128 armored front vehicles [VAB]18 CAESAr [Camions équipés d’un système d’artillerie]10 TRM trucks and MILAN firing points, the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade left and joined Ukraine in November. However, upon his arrival, and for a reason which was not specified, his commander, Colonel Dmytro Ryumshin, was replaced by Colonel Taras Maksimov. Then, several of its units were dispersed when it had just deployed in “the combat zone”, more precisely in the Pokrovsk region. [Donbass].
Hence the controversy to which this brigade has been the subject. MP and member of the same party as that of Mr. Zelensky, Mariana Bezuhla put her feet in the dish on December 7. “What happened to the 155th Brigade?” “, she asked, via Telegram messaging.
“The fate of the 155th Mechanized Brigade remains the same as that of all other 'zombie brigades' or 'paper brigades', as they are also called. People are forcibly integrated into it, but no coordination of command structures is ensured. Later, the unit is simply disbanded and attached to others, with most being sent to assault units, except for those 'placed' in staff positions through dubious ploys.” , continued the MP.
And added: “Even French efforts to specialize the brigade could not save it from the bad military decisions of our generals, which ultimately dismantled it. […] Now, back in Ukraine, this brigade is being dismantled as donor bodies for other brigades.”
However, it is the desertion rate within this 155th brigade which raises questions. In a long message published via Facebook on December 31, Ukrainian journalist Yuri Boutoussov claimed that 1,700 of his soldiers [sur un effectif total de 4 500] were declared deserters before their engagement on the front, including 50 during training in France. “This raised questions among French leaders about the seriousness of the Ukrainian attitude towards the implementation of such an expensive project,” he wrote, assuring that he had “obtained a significant amount of testimonies and documents” during his investigation.
While he does not question the quality of the training provided by the French army, the journalist accused the “Ukrainian military command of having failed in the initial training of the brigade”, which took place in a “ complete organizational chaos.”
In addition, the significant losses suffered by the 155th brigade from its first engagements could have been avoided if, according to him, certain essential equipment [dispositifs de brouillage électronique, drones, etc.] had not failed. It is a “criminal attitude towards the lives of soldiers”, he denounced.
Given the scale of the controversy and its potential consequences for the formation of new brigades in the future, Ukrainian authorities have opened an investigation.
“The State Bureau of Investigation is currently examining the facts published in the media as part of criminal proceedings initiated under article 426-1 [abus d’autorité ou de pouvoirs officiels par un militaire] and section 408 [désertion] of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing. For the moment, it is too early to talk about the results, Tatian Sapian, its spokesperson, confirmed to AFP.
According to Yuri Boutoussov, the affair is being closely followed by President Zelensky, his Defense Minister, Roustem Oumierov, and General Oleksandr Syrsky, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian forces.
Furthermore, the 155th brigade is not the only one experiencing serious problems. On December 17, based on information published by Ukraïnska Pravda, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into alleged “abuse of power” by commanders of the 211th engineering brigade, the latter being accused of having assaulted soldiers who consumed alcohol while on duty while extorting money from them.
Photo: TF Champagne – Ministry of the Armed Forces
