The commander of a scandal-hit Ukrainian brigade has been detained, accused of failing to report violations in his unit, the State Bureau of Investigation mentioned on Jan. 20.
The one hundred and fifty fifth "Anne of Kyiv" Brigade was supposed to be a flagship venture for Ukrainian brigades skilled and armed with the help of international companions.
French President Emmanuel Macron introduced in June that France would offer coaching and army provides as a part of this initiative.
Regardless of Paris fulfilling its commitments for coaching and arms provision, an investigation led by Yurii Butusov, editor-in-chief of Ukrainian media outlet Censor.web, claimed troopers of the unit, at present deployed close to Pokrovsk, have suffered losses and gone AWOL (absent with out depart) in giant numbers as a consequence of poor command and group inside Ukraine’s army management.
The State Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the unit on Jan. 3.
In a press release on Jan 20, the bureau mentioned the commander "didn’t reply to violations in his unit, together with the unauthorized abandonment of the army unit by his fighters."
"The commander additionally intentionally did not carry out different actions assigned to him by his official duties. Particularly, throughout 2024, he didn’t ship a single report back to pre-trial investigation our bodies concerning subordinate servicemen who dedicated felony offenses," it added.
If discovered responsible, the commander faces as much as 10 years in jail.
The one hundred and fifty fifth Brigade has about 5,800 troops, fewer than 2,000 of whom have undergone coaching in France. It’s armed with French AMX10 armored autos, Caesar howitzers, and German Leopard 2A4 tanks, amongst different weapons.
In line with Butusov's investigation, the unit's founding was "organizational chaos" from the very starting. Even earlier than the coaching in France started, 2,500 service members have been reportedly despatched to different models, thus eradicating lots of the most certified personnel from the brigade.
Of the 1,924 troopers ultimately despatched to France, solely 51 had greater than a yr of army service, whereas 1,414 had served for lower than two months, Butusov wrote.
The unit was additionally tormented by giant numbers of troopers going AWOL — about 50 abandoned in France, along with tons of who left their posts even earlier than the unit was deployed on the entrance, in response to the journalist.
Between March and November, over 1,700 troopers had gone AWOL, Butusov reported.
Although the unit was replenished with new recruits, these typically didn’t endure a "correct choice course of," the journalist added.
