The Ukrainian National Bureau of Investigation confirmed, Thursday January 2, the opening of an investigation into “abuse of power” et “desertion” within the 155th mechanized brigade “Anne de kyiv”, partly trained and equipped in France last fall. The announcement confirms information from a famous military blogger critical of Ukrainian President Yuri Butousov. In a long message published on Facebook on December 31, he detailed a series of dysfunctions within the brigade, reviving a controversy launched upon its return to Ukraine at the beginning of December.
In his publication, Yuri Boutoussov paints the portrait of a brigade in difficulty even before its arrival on the front, partly paralyzed by a series of dismissals and desertions, and by the lack of experience of its men, most of whom were mobilized. a few weeks before their arrival in the brigade.
Deployed in December in the Pokrovsk area, where the fiercest fighting of the entire front line took place, the 155th brigade would have, according to the blogger, experienced its baptism of fire without a drone or electronic jamming equipment, and in the absence of the brigade staff, then still in France.
Fragmented and scattered brigade
The blogger also assures that nearly 1,700 soldiers have deserted since the creation of the brigade in spring 2024, including 50 during their training in France. That is almost half of the workforce. Allegations which are now being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation and which, again according to Yuri Boutoussov, led to the dismissal of the brigade commander, Colonel Dmytro Rioumchine, at the beginning of December. “The chaos in the management of the brigade then only intensified,” he accuses.
As early as December 7, Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla also denounced the fragmentation of the brigade which, once it arrived on the front, saw its various units scattered and attached to others. “The practice is common”, explain to The Cross a former Ukrainian army officer now head of Frontelligence, a group specializing in monitoring the conflict. «New battalions are sent into unfamiliar units, with unfamiliar commanders, and they may even be deployed to areas of critical importance… It’s no wonder these units are not not effective. »
France is not implicated in these criticisms, which point the finger at the Ukrainian military command. These revelations, however, call into question the relevance of this “integral” training and equipment system, while the formation of a second brigade by France was announced on December 18 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On the French side, the sources contacted by The Cross temper the seriousness of the facts and emphasize that the use of forces is at the discretion of Ukraine. “The dispersion of brigades is part of the reality of war today, it is understandable», confides a well-informed source.
“Reinforce existing units!” »
Without directly responding to Yuri Boutoussov’s accusations, Defense Minister Roustem Oumierov announced on January 2 the launch of an audit “thorough” of the command of the land forces. But more than the dysfunctions within a unit, it is the very decision of the Ukrainian authorities to create 14 reserve brigades last year that Yuri Boutoussov and, behind him, several media figures in Ukraine criticize.
«We’ve been shouting it everywhere for two years: reinforce existing units, stop playing with the formation of new brigades when you have huge problems with existing brigades, stop using territorial defense to plug the holes!», Oleh Simoroz, a veteran who became an activist after losing both his legs in a mine explosion, was outraged on Facebook.
Brigade dispersed to the four winds, allocation of equipment sometimes hazardous, coordination problems, lack of experienced personnel, desertions… If they are proven, the problems of the 155th brigade are often those of the entire Ukrainian army, including the shortage of soldiers against a backdrop of a Russian offensive has become a dangerous normality for more than a year.
