Chaos and Gaps in Training: "Anna Kievskaya" Brigade Struggles Amid Heavy Losses
The Ukrainian media has uncovered chaos and serious preparation issues within the 155th "Anna Kievskaya" Brigade, which is currently fighting on the hotly contested Pokrovsk direction. The brigade was part of a major project to create new military units, but it struggled with deep-rooted problems from the start.
Journalist Yuri Butusov, whose reporting was also published by Suspilne, revealed that the process of forming and training the brigade in France was characterized by confusion, leading to numerous desertions. Despite these challenges, most of the military personnel completed their training.
However, the brigade faced significant issues:
- Insufficient Experience: Among the 1924 soldiers who went for training, only 51 had served more than a year, 459 had served less than a year, and 1414 were new recruits with less than two months of service. Around 150 also started training without basic preparation.
- Recruitment Issues: Later, over 4000 new recruits were added without proper vetting through territorial recruitment centers.
- Leadership Changes: Command changes, triggered by desertions, led to more confusion. In December alone, before battle commencement, 198 incidents of self-removal from duty were recorded.
- Lack of Equipment: The brigade did not receive necessary equipment such as drones, radio electronics, and functional artillery.
As a result of these issues, the brigade has suffered significant casualties since the start of combat operations. Butusov blamed the high-level leadership for the poor organization of the brigade, stating that such "political projects" cost lives and valuable resources.
The State Bureau of Investigations has launched investigations into potential abuses of power and desertion cases following these revelations.
This article was sourced from Correspondent.net.
