The agency is looking into allegations of poor conditions in the brigade, possible abuse of power and desertion, the spokesman said, according to Interfax.
The announcement comes days after a bombshell assessment of Ukraine’s 155th Brigade, which was trained by France before going into battle, published by Yury Butusov, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian website Censor.net.
Mr. Yury Butusov said that the 155th combat brigade is facing systemic problems, including some servicemen being transferred from the brigade to other tasks.
He pointed out that the lack of organization and weapons, especially drones, has seriously weakened the brigade's capabilities.
According to Mr. Butusov, 1,700 soldiers left the unit before the 155th Brigade entered the battle. He pointed out that many deserted while the Ukrainian unit was still stationed in France for training.
Last month, Ukrainian parliamentarian Maria Bezuglaya described the unit as a “zombie” brigade that exists only on paper and has no real value.
The French Defense Ministry did not comment directly on the allegations of desertion involving Ukraine's 155th Brigade. However, the ministry noted, "The Ukrainian Armed Forces organized the selection of Ukrainian servicemen to form this brigade and managed the processes."
In early December 2024, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office reported a sharp increase in desertion cases since 2022, with more than 96,000 investigations launched, most of which took place in 2024, according to Bloomberg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the increase in desertions, but stressed that the number of desertions had begun to decline since last fall.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization in February 2022 after the conflict with Russia broke out. In the spring of 2024, Kiev lowered the military service age from 27 to 25 and tightened regulations on military service.
