Ukraine has opened a prison probe into an alleged case of desertion and “abuse of energy” after masses of infantrymen have been reported to have fled a military unit partially skilled via France, investigators stated Thursday. The one hundred and fifty fifth Mechanized Brigade, dubbed “Anne of Kyiv,” was once one among a number of army groupings shaped final yr as Ukraine sought to spice up arrangements for conceivable new Russian offensives. The unit was once to be made up of four,500 infantrymen, with France coaching kind of part of them and offering apparatus. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our protection of the warfare at the @Kyivpost_official. 
France’s President Emmanuel Macron (R) opinions French troops all the way through a discuss with in an army camp, as he meets for the primary time with Ukrainian troops that France has skilled for the rustic?s combat towards the Russian invasion, in japanese France on October 9, 2024. (Photograph via Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP) However its construction has been beset with issues together with what one lawmaker described as deficient control. The brigade’s commander was once changed in a while after the unit returned house after months of coaching in France, and days sooner than it went into battle, in step with experiences in December. Col. Dmytro Ryumshin left command of the one hundred and fifty fifth Mechanized Brigade on Dec. 12. He stated in a brief observation posted at the brigade Fb web page that he was once grateful to infantrymen, NCOs and officials for his or her “loyalty and professionalism,” and it were an honor to coach them. The unit would cross to the combating line “quickly,” he stated.
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Kyiv Put up bought unique video from the French Ministry of International Affairs appearing the brigade’s coaching when French President Emmanual Macron visited the encampment in October. The compilation video gave a primary take a look at dozens of Ukrainian infantrymen taking courses from French officials on box techniques, principle, and palms operations. The Ukrainian troops can also be observed within the clip working towards with all kinds of {hardware} – together with M270 rocket artillery techniques, Caesar howitzers, and Alpha jets – within the French geographical region and in specialised coaching grounds selected to approximate the topographical demanding situations offered via the warfare in Ukraine. 
Ukrainian infantrymen of the one hundred and fifty fifth Separate Mechanized Brigade stand subsequent to army cars all the way through a coaching workout via the French Military as a part of the “Champagne” Activity Pressure, at Mourmelon-le-Grand army camp, in Mourmelon-le-Grand, on November 14, 2024. (Photograph via FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP) Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) stated it had opened a prison probe into abuse of energy via an army legit and desertion within the case, with out elaborating. “The State Bureau of Investigation is certainly learning the details reported within the media throughout the framework of prison lawsuits initiated below Article 426-1 (exceedance of authority or legit powers via an army particular person) and Article 408 (desertion) of the Legal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing. It’s too early to speak about any initial effects,” DBR communications adviser Tetyana Sapyan informed Interfax-Ukraine. Yuriy Butusov, editor-in-chief of Censor.NET, claimed in his Telegram channel in December that 1,700 infantrymen had fled the brigade with out going into battle, and that fifty had escaped whilst coaching in France. Lawmaker Mariana Bezuhla alleged final month that the brigade were successfully dismantled and redistributed throughout different devices. She blamed what she known as a loss of “coordination of command constructions.”
“Even the French efforts to make the brigade specialised couldn’t put it aside from the deficient army selections of our generals, which in the long run dismantled the unit,” she stated. The Ukrainian military faces important uncertainty in 2025. Moscow is pouring assets into its just about three-year invasion and uncertainty hangs over long term US assist for Kyiv when President-elect Donald Trump takes administrative center later this month. Russia complex via virtually 4,000 sq. kilometers (1,500 miles) in Ukraine final yr.
