War in Ukraine: a “zombie brigade” for “advertising” purposes, an investigation opened into the Anne de kyiv brigade, trained in France

Trained in France in the Marne, the Anne de kyiv brigade is at the center of criticism in Ukraine. Accused of desertions and abuse of power, the Ukrainian authorities have launched investigations into this brigade.

Ukrainian investigators told AFP on Thursday, January 2, that they had launched investigations into cases of abuse of power and desertion within the “Anna of kyiv” brigade, which was partly trained and equipped by France.

“The State Investigation Bureau is indeed studying the facts presented in the media as part of the criminal proceedings initiated under the articles” related to abuse of power and desertion, Tatyana Sapian, the spokesperson for this official body, told AFP.

A “complete organizational chaos”

The brigade has been the subject of controversy since its return last month from France, where 2,300 of its 4,500 soldiers were trained. According to the well-known Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov, 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.

He accused the Ukrainian military command in a long Facebook post on Tuesday of failing to conduct the brigade’s initial training, which took place in “complete organizational chaos” and of sending its soldiers to other units to “plug the gaps” in terms of personnel.

According to him, what was left of the brigade was sent to Pokrovsk, one of the hottest sectors of the Eastern Front, while its commander was dismissed from his duties, as were several of his subordinates. According to the Ukrainian journalist, the brigade was not equipped with drones or electronic jamming equipment, tools that have become essential for military units in this war.

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A “zombie brigade” for “advertising” purposes according to a deputy

“Because of this criminal attitude towards the lives of soldiers, the 155th brigade suffered significant losses from the first days”, he accused. “The investigation is ongoing. It is too early to talk about preliminary results”, explained Tatyana Sapian.

The problems within the “Anna of kyiv” brigade had already been denounced by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezugla, known for her virulent criticism of the military high command, who spoke at the beginning of December of a “zombie brigade” formed for the purposes of “publicity”.

Absences that would not concern “exclusively soldiers trained in France”

According to information from TF1, faced with the advance of Russian troops in Pokrovsk, the troops retreated, causing the men to disperse, “whose regrouping may take time”. A French military source told our colleagues that “dividing this brigade into smaller units can be justified”, confirming that the command of these units is exclusively Ukrainian.

To our colleagues at TF1, Mariana Bezougla clarified “that there have been a large number of cases of unauthorized absence from the unit by military personnel”, emphasizing that these are not “exclusively soldiers trained in France”. If a debate in Ukraine exists, TF1 calls for caution on an amplification of “pro-Russian networks” and a “estimation of a military commentator based on observations of departures on all units deployed on the Pokrovsk front”.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the soldiers of the 155th Ukrainian Brigade at the beginning of October during their training in France. France gave this brigade 128 VAB personnel carriers, 18 AMX-10 tanks, 18 Caesar self-propelled guns as well as trucks, armoured medical evacuation vehicles, Mistral anti-aircraft missile and Milan anti-tank missile firing points.