The General Staff reported the reinforcement of the 155th Separate Motorized Brigade with drone units.

The 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Anna Kyivska, which has been reported in the media for inadequate formation and lack of resources, is receiving additional personnel and is carrying out specific tasks in full strength. This was stated in a response from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday, January 7.

“This is a newly formed brigade that trained on the territory of France and is gaining capabilities during combat operations, having its own brigade defense sector in the Pokrovsk direction,” the statement reads.

According to the General Staff, even before “some organizational problems of the 155th Brigade became known through the media, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine initiated an investigation into the situation, particularly regarding the significant number of cases of unauthorized departure from the military unit.”

The agency stated that measures are being taken to improve discipline and the psychological state of servicemen.

“This has allowed us to reduce the number of cases of unauthorized departure. Currently, the brigade units are receiving additional personnel, and the brigade has been reinforced with drone units,” the General Staff added.

Earlier today, the commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapatiy, commented on the situation in the 155th Brigade. The commander agreed that “a number of facts are present.”

“I view all these manifestations negatively and believe that all issues could have been addressed locally at all management levels, meaning by all commanders and leaders… I am confident that what has been stated will eventually be disproved,” Drapatiy said.

The Scandal Surrounding the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Anna Kyivska”

It should be noted that the 155th Brigade was established at the beginning of 2024, and in the fall, the servicemen of the brigade underwent training in France and Poland. In December, the brigade returned to Ukraine and engaged in combat near Pokrovsk.

On December 31, 2024, journalist Yuriy Butusov published an investigation that discussed mass desertion and unauthorized departures of servicemen from the 155th Brigade. According to Butusov, as of November 2024, over 1700 military personnel had deserted. Of these, 50 left during training in France. The likely reasons for the mass exodus of fighters from the brigade were chaos due to constant changes in command, poor training of inexperienced soldiers, and inadequate supply of weapons.

As a result of Butusov's investigation, the State Bureau of Investigations initiated criminal proceedings on charges of desertion and abuse of power by a military official.

On January 5, the Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskiy, held a monthly meeting with commanders of drone units and ordered to reinforce the 155th Mechanized Brigade named after Anna Kyivska. According to the Chief Commander, he also paid special attention to “problematic issues that need to be resolved” in the brigade.

On the same day, it became known that President Volodymyr Zelensky took personal control of the situation regarding mass desertion in the brigade.