France gave this brigade 128 VAB personnel carriers, 18 AMX-10 tanks, 18 Caesar cannons as well as trucks, armored medical evacuation vehicles, Mistral anti-aircraft and Milan anti-tank missile firing points.
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Thierry Burkhard and Emmanuel Macron during a meeting with Ukrainian soldiers, at their training site in France, October 9, 2024. (POOL / THIBAULT CAMUS)
Some 1,700 desertions, premature sending to the front, unsuitable equipment, dismissed commander… Criticized by an MP and a renowned Ukrainian journalist, the “Anne de kyiv” brigade of the Ukrainian army, partly trained and equipped by France, is targeted by a procedure, Ukrainian investigators indicated Thursday, January 2.
“The State Bureau of Investigation is effectively studying the facts presented in the media within the framework of the criminal proceedings initiated under the articles” related to
abuse of power and desertion
told the
AFP
Tatyana Sapian, the spokesperson for this official body.
This brigade has been the subject of controversy since its return last month from France, where 2,300 of its 4,500 soldiers were trained. According to renowned Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butousov,
nearly 1,700 soldiers from the brigade deserted
most of them even before their unit was deployed to the front, and 50 during training in France. In a long message on Facebook on Tuesday, he accused the Ukrainian military command of having failed in the initial training of the brigade, which took place in a
“complete organizational chaos”
and to have sent his soldiers to other units to “fill the holes” in terms of numbers.
“Criminal attitude” of the military command
According to him, what remained of the brigade was sent in particular to Pokrovsk, one of the hottest sectors of the Eastern Front, while its commander was dismissed, as well as several of his subordinates. Still according to this Ukrainian journalist,
the brigade was not equipped with drones or electronic jamming equipment,
tools that have become essential for military units in this war. “Because of this criminal attitude towards the lives of soldiers, the 155th brigade suffered significant losses from the first days,” he accused.
“The investigation is underway. It is too early to talk about preliminary results,” explained Tatyana Sapian.
The problems within the “Anne of kyiv” brigade had already been denounced by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezougla, known for her virulent criticism of the military high command, who spoke in early December
a “zombie brigade” formed for “publicity” purposes.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited the soldiers of the 155th Ukrainian brigade at the beginning of October during their training in France. France gave this brigade 128 VAB troop transport vehicles, 18 AMX-10 tanks, 18 Caesar self-propelled guns as well as trucks, armored medical evacuation vehicles, Mistral anti-aircraft and Milan anti-tank missile firing points .
