Ukraine’s French-trained brigade’s issues show larger problems within AFU — military expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"The story of the 155th Anna Kyivska Brigade is oddly focused in the media only on the issue of desertion. This is not entirely accurate, as the formation, deployment, and training of this brigade involve several aspects that carry risks for all Ukrainian Ground Forces units. Right now, we are drawing conclusions primarily based on a detailed post by Yuriy Butusov, who has broken down all the problems that existed with this brigade," Zgurets noted.

The military expert explained that there were three waves of replenishment for this brigade, which began forming in March of last year as part of 14 brigades mentioned by Zelenskyy when he pointed out the lack of equipment and weapons to equip these units. The 155th brigade initially had 2,500 personnel, but later, soldiers were transferred to other brigades. Then, 1,900 soldiers, quickly recruited from the Territorial Defense Centers, were sent to France. There, 50 cases of AWOL occurred. In total, 1,700 cases of AWOL have affected these units.

"The brigade was equipped with French equipment. By the way, the personnel never managed to master the CAESAR howitzers and are now learning to operate them in combat. This brigade was not equipped with drones or EW systems. 95% of the command staff also had no combat experience. All of this contributed to the overall situation we are trying to analyze now. The [Ukrainian] State Bureau of Investigations is oddly focused only on the issue of AWOL cases among the soldiers in France. This is too narrow of an interpretation of the problem," said Zgurets.

The military expert hopes that Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov's decision to inspect the Ground Forces partly addresses this issue, but the problem is much broader.

"We now need to carry out a significant reform regarding personnel training, the availability of commanders, and the search for weapons. Because if there are no trained, commanding, and leadership personnel, then the formation of brigades, regardless of their size and armament, will not lead to effective use on the battlefield and, on the contrary, will lead to losses," emphasized the military expert.

Serhiy Zgurets also added that part of the 155th brigade is bravely fighting in the Pokrovsk direction, but some of its units are suffering losses due to insufficient training.

• The State Bureau of Investigations is examining the facts presented in the media regarding the circumstances of the formation of the 155th Mechanized Brigade Anna Kyivska. A case has been opened under the articles on abuse of power and desertion.