Two fake Ukrainian army brigades unmasked

Two ghost brigades of the Ukrainian army have been unmasked thanks to social networks, as kyiv has just confirmed. But what is the point of these fake units?

Martin Küper / t-online

Military experts quickly thought something was wrong with the 13^e fighter brigade and the 88^e mechanized brigade. Both units were formed in February 2023, according to their own statements, and claim to be part of the Ukrainian army. Problem: neither their numbering nor their emblems follow the systematics of the Ukrainian army. kyiv has now confirmed that at least one of these two brigades was not integrated into any military structure in the country.

However, these fake brigades have gone to great lengths to convince the world of their existence. On Facebook, the 88^e mechanized brigade regularly publishes photos of soldiers and equipment, allegedly taken on the border with Belarus, where the unit is allegedly stationed. But the authors of the specialized portal militaryland.net were quickly surprised that the brigade never reported losses in its ranks nor did it solicit donations from social media users, like many other Ukrainian units.

???? Follow the war against Ukraine live ????

“And it seemed even more suspicious”

The latter, however, published a post on Facebook warning against fraudulent calls for donations for so-called Ukrainian units last August. The post said the brigade was well equipped and had sufficient weapons and ammunition, so donations were not needed.

Specialists also found strange inconsistencies in the case of the 13^e hunter brigade. The equipment seen in the unit’s photos is rather typical of the National Guard or border protection troops, and not from the regular Ukrainian armyexplains the specialized portal. And the license plate of a military vehicle of the so-called brigade contains a series of numbers typical of National Guard vehicles.

L’Ukraine confirmed the suspicions

To find out, the authors of militaryland.net spoke directly to the general staff of the Ukrainian army. He confirmed to the portal that as of October 21, “no unit with the name 88^e mechanized brigade” did not exist in the Ukrainian army. According to the information portal, it is “very likely that the 13^e hunter brigade does not exist either.”

Experts see two possible explanations for the fake brigades conundrum: on the one hand, they could either be small groups of snipers on the Ukrainian side who hope to one day be integrated into the regular army. But it could also be that the two ghost brigades are used for psychological warfare and are intended to make the Ukrainian army appear larger than it actually is. In this case, however, it would be strange if kyiv so easily confirmed that one of these brigades does not exist.

Translated and adapted from German by Léa Krejci

For the first time, North Koreans were targeted by Ukrainian fire. This incident highlights a worrying development: North Korea is now a party to the conflict. What are the repercussions for the Kursk region?

The first rumors circulated in July 2024. South Korean media then reported that a group of engineers from the neighboring country were going to the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, under Russian occupation, to help with reconstruction. Two months later, the new head of the Russian Security Council and former Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, met with Kim Jong-un.

Then everything happened very quickly.