Ukraine has launched an investigation into desertions from an “elite” brigade of the Armed Forces

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has opened a criminal case under articles related to desertion and abuse of power due to numerous desertion incidents within the 155th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, named after Anna of Kyiv.

This was reported by Tatiana Sapyan, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Earlier, Forbes reported that the elite 155th Mechanized Brigade, trained in the West, began to disintegrate even before being deployed to the front near Pokrovsk. According to the magazine, the brigade was supposed to consist of more than 5,800 troops. However, approximately 1,700 of them were absent at some point during the brigade’s training in Western Ukraine, France, and Poland.

In November of last year, Sapyan announced that deserters from units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were required to return to their units by January 1. She stated that soldiers who returned to their units would have their monetary payments, benefits, and social guarantees reinstated.