the “Anne de kyiv” brigade formed in France hit by a wave of desertions, what we know

WAR IN UKRAINE – What is happening with the “Anne of kyiv” brigade? After the announcement of the opening of an investigation in Ukraine concerning cases of abuse of power and desertions, the army recognized this Monday, January 6 that there existed “problems” within this brigade partly trained and equipped by France. Here’s what we know.

• What is the “Anne of kyiv” brigade?

The name of this brigade comes from the wife of the King of France Henry I, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of kyiv in the 11th century. The brigade’s motto is the watchword of the Battle of Verdun: “ They will not pass”.

Of this unit of 4,500 soldiers, the general staff, three infantry battalions and their support (engineering, artillery, ground-air defense and reconnaissance) were trained in France, i.e. around 2,000 men, 90% of conscripts with no combat experience, accompanied by 300 Ukrainian supervisors. The rest of the brigade was trained in Ukraine. Soldiers trained in France returned to Ukraine last month.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the soldiers of the 155th Ukrainian brigade in early October during their training in France. Paris also transferred to 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 anti-tank missile firing points. Milan.

• What is he accused of?

According to renowned Ukrainian journalist Yuri Boutoussov, nearly 1,700 soldiers from the brigade deserted, most of them before their unit was even deployed to the front, and 50 during training in France.

In a lengthy Facebook post, he accused the Ukrainian military command of failing in the brigade’s initial training, which took place in a “ complete organizational chaos » and to have sent his soldiers to other units to “ plug the holes » in terms of staff.

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.

Problems within the brigade « Anne of kyiv” had already been denounced by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezougla, known for her virulent criticism of the military high command, who spoke at the beginning of December of a “ brigade zombie » formed for the purposes of advertisement “.

• What is Ukraine’s reaction?

After several days of silence, the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces Mikhailo Drapaty admitted this Monday “ problems with command and the training process »more “ perhaps step by step on the scale (…) presented”. “As far as possible, all of these issues are being resolved.”he continued, assuring that the number of desertions of soldiers trained in France was “ minimum ».

“There were certain problems, and they still exist, no one hides them”he said. “We are taking certain measures, particularly in terms of training and coordination, so that this military unit is truly ready to fulfill its missions”he added.

The soldier also recognized, in a rare admission by the Ukrainian general staff, that the problems encountered by the brigade “ Mother in Kyiv » were “ systemic for other brigades » : « It’s not a secret”. To resolve them, we also need an overall approach”he estimated, at a time when the Ukrainian forces are struggling against the Russian troops, who are more numerous and better armed.

• And France?

For his part, a French general staff official declared to AFP that“there have been a certain number of desertions, but which remain very marginal given the volume of people (…) trained”, evoking “a few dozen” of desertion on French territory.

“They were in French barracks, they had the right to leave”he added, specifying that the training had been “ according to ” to the wishes of Ukrainians, in matters “ equipment, training time and level ». “If someone deserted, a French prosecutor had no authority to arrest that individual. And the right granted to the Ukrainian authorities on French soil is just a disciplinary right,” he added.

For its part, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces indicated that France had “ asked for explanations from Ukraine » on the subject. “ The Ukrainians remain sovereign in the use of their military means, but the brigade was not trained in France to be dislocated”we added from the same source.

The French army has noted cases of desertions “ in the same proportions as for all formations of Ukrainian soldiers outside Ukraine” et « obviously informed his Ukrainian partner”. According to the Hôtel de Brienne, France “ trained, in an unprecedented way, all the military levels of a brigade”answering “ operational needs defined by Ukraine. The quality of the training provided in France is not called into question”.

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