RT reported that Ukraine's Commissioner for Soldiers' Rights Olga Reshetilova said that the 155th Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine has opened an investigation into the recent mass desertion.
According to Ms. Reshetilova, who visited the brigade last week, the new command has created a special unit to track down soldiers suspected of deserting.
In a Facebook post last week, Ms Reshetilova said the new command was working hard to find missing soldiers. In an interview with The Guardian, she also acknowledged that desertion was a widespread problem in the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine's army is struggling to replenish its ranks amid exhaustion after three years of conflict with Russia.
The elite 155th Mechanized Brigade, also known as “Anne of Kiev,” was once considered a model Ukrainian unit with 4,500 soldiers, half of whom were trained and equipped by France, as part of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan to boost the number of skilled soldiers.
However, the brigade made headlines late last year when Censor.NET (Ukraine) reported that around 1,700 of its soldiers had deserted without ever having fought. In addition, 50 other soldiers were said to have deserted while still in France.
Following the article, the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine (DBR) opened a criminal investigation. According to RT, this shows that the Kiev government is tacitly acknowledging the desertion, but the exact number of missing soldiers has not been officially confirmed.
MP Mariana Bezuglaya revealed that the brigade was almost disbanded and the remaining soldiers were distributed to other units.
Also according to Censor.NET, Mr. Zelensky’s plan envisages the creation of 14 “Anne of Kiev” brigades, in which Ukraine will provide personnel, while NATO countries will sponsor training and weapons. The cost of such a brigade is said to be up to 900 million USD.
