Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation [SBI] is reportedly investigating the 155th Mechanised Brigade, dubbed “Anne of Kyiv”, after almost 2,000 soldiers were reported to have deserted.
The brigade was an attempt by France to strengthen Ukraine’s defences, with some 2,300 of its 4,500 soldiers trained in the European Union country.
Tetyana Sapian, a spokesperson for the SBI, told Interfax-Ukraine on January 2 that authorities had launched a criminal investigation into the unit.
“The SBI is studying the facts set out in the media within the framework of criminal proceedings initiated under Article 426-1 [abuse of power or official authority by a military person] and Article 408 [desertion] of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
“The investigation is ongoing. It is too early to talk about any preliminary results,” Sapian said.
Earlier the same day, the editor-in-chief of Censor.NET Yuriy Butusov wrote on his Telegram channel that the SBI opened criminal proceedings in December 2024.
Butusov referred to the brigade in a news report published on January 1, blaming the reported “situation” on the political and military leadership of his country.
He accused the Supreme Commander-in-Chief – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as heads of the ministry of defence and the general staff of continuing “to waste lives and public funds on new projects, instead of strengthening experienced and combat-ready brigades”.
Butusov claimed they were “trying to absolve themselves of responsibility, shifting it by the hands of the SBI to the officers who have been put in a hopeless situation, who have to be responsible for a poorly organised political project by the top management”.
“One of the leaders responsible for the formation of the brigade died of a heart attack, and the brigade commander was dismissed immediately after the brigade entered the battle [of Pokrovsk]. Before the brigade fired the first shot, 1,700 servicemen left it without permission,” he wrote.
Ukraine has sent several new brigades to NATO allies for training; the first such project was the 155th Mechanised Brigade.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the move and France armed and trained the brigade in line with Ukrainian demands.
“But at the training stage, more than 50 servicemen fled from the new brigade in France,” Butusov said.
“This raised questions from the French leadership about the seriousness of the attitude of Ukrainians toward the implementation of such an expensive project.”
According to Butusov, the ordeal “seriously discredits Zelensky’s entire plan” and has led to a scandal, triggering the criminal investigation.
“From the very beginning, it turned out that the Operational Command West [a formation of Ukrainian Ground Forces in western Ukraine] had neither the command personnel, nor the soldiers, nor the weapons, nor the resources to create a new formation,” he said.
“The formation of the 155th Brigade was complete organisational chaos in literally all components from the first days, and the service required great efforts from those who tried to serve honestly, and [led] to heavy losses due to the unauthorised abandonment of the unit from the very beginning of the formation.”
Butusov claimed the brigade was “not an organised and controlled military unit but a group of people just dressed in military uniforms”.
Recruitment for the unit reportedly only began a few months ago and 150 men “had just been recruited without any selection” and “more than 700 people fled from the brigade on the territory of Ukraine immediately after enlistment”, he added.
Я взяв на себе це зобов’язання: зараз наші військові навчають 2300 українських солдатів у Гранд-Есті, з обладнанням, яке вони використовуватимуть під час місій.
Бригада Анни Київської буде навчена та оснащена завдяки солідарності Франції. pic.twitter.com/6ewiQgqBk2
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 9, 2024
The unit was named after Anna Yaroslavna, known as “Anne of Kiyv”. She became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I.
Its troops were trained in “high-value skills” in areas such as logistics, radar systems, armoured reconnaissance and urban combat. They were also taught to work with NATO equipment, Caesar self-propelled howitzers, anti-tank missiles and other heavy weaponry.
The brigade was reportedly sent to one of the hottest sectors of the front in eastern Donetsk without drones or electronic jamming equipment, making them easier targets for the Russians.
“As a result, the brand-new Leopard 2A4 tanks and VAB armoured vehicles suffered losses during the first attempts to use them on the front [due to] enemy drones,” Butusov said.
“Because of this criminal attitude towards the lives of soldiers, the 155th brigade suffered significant losses in the first days,” he alleged.
The initiative to train and equip the brigade in France cost €875 million and garnered significant media attention, including during the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings in June 2024.
Bohdan Krotevych, the Chief of Staff of Ukraine’s Azov Brigade, said on X on January 1 that the government’s policies were “idiotic” as they created new, inexperienced brigades with high-end equipment while veteran brigades lacked military material.
The 155th Mechanised Brigade has been disbanded and its remaining elements have been assigned to other active units.
Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla had on December 7 criticised the Ukrainian Government on X. She said it had created many new “zombie brigades” or “paper brigades” that she claimed were formed to impress journalists and the public but which had little to no military value.
Under the European Union Military Assistance Mission, a programme sponsored by the EU that helps member states train and equip Kyiv’s forces, more than 63,000 Ukrainian personnel have received training since late 2022.
It has a budget allocation of almost €409 million for the period from November14 2024 to November 15 2026.
