Allies unhappy with situation with AFU 155th brigade, on creation of which they spent EUR 900 million — The Economist
The situation surrounding the 155th separate mechanized brigade named after Anna Kyivska, which was trained and equipped by France, led to the fact that the process of forming new units with the participation of Ukraine's allies temporarily stopped.
This is stated in the material of The Economist publication.
The formation of the 155th brigade became known in June 2024. Then, at the ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy, French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country would train and arm a unit of the Ukrainian army.
The publication writes that the brigade has become a kind of "showcase of NATO support". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped that other allies would follow France's example and also join the training of the other 14 brigades of the Ukrainian army.
The deployment of the brigade after six months of training turned into a disaster.
The publication cites statements by Ukrainian journalist Yurii Butusov, who previously reported, citing sources, that 1,700 servicemen of the brigade went rogue. Another 50 people escaped while in France.
He also claimed that after returning to Ukraine, the brigade, which France provided with 155-mm CAESAR self-propelled howitzers, was not given drones and electronic warfare equipment.
In addition, some of the trained specialists were transferred to infantry units, and desertion increased sharply, as inexperienced fighters were sent to forward positions, and they suffered heavy losses.
Butusov claimed that all seven brigades formed in 2024 experienced similar problems during their first deployment.
According to The Economist, the desertion in the 155th brigade was a clear indication that Ukraine is struggling to mobilize, and also showed that the high command is not responding to what is happening.
The situation has also caused discontent among Ukraine's allies, who have no say in choosing Kyiv's strategy, but pay for military assistance and training new units.
According to Jeffrey Edmonds, an analyst at the Centre for a New American Security, training and equipping the 155th brigade cost about EUR 900 million.
Earlier, the United States promised to train and equip two brigades for Ukraine, and Germany - one. Also in December 2024, Zelenskyy said that France would prepare another brigade. Now the timing of the training of the Ukrainian military has become vague.
The publication writes that according to some reports, the scandal with the 155th brigade forced Zelenskyy to temporarily stop the formation of new brigades.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in early January, journalist Yurii Butusov spoke about the situation in the 155th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As a reminder, on January 8, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation detained the commander of one of the companies of the 155th brigade. He allegedly left the unit without permission and incited other servicemen to do so.
We also wrote that the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, commented on the situation in the 155th brigade.