The Ukrainian army announced on Tuesday, May 20, launching an inspection of the “Anne de kyiv” Brigade on Tuesday, May 20, formed and equipped by France to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion, but has been in the heart of scandals for embezzlement of funds and defections for months.
This unit, which is officially the 155th mechanized Brigade, intended to be a powerful combat force of the Ukrainian army and held by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky as a symbol of military cooperation between kyiv and Paris. But since its deployment in the front, it has multiplied the controversies with respect to the shortage of equipment, including drones, and the abandonment of mass posts among its soldiers.
Ukrainska Pravda Media Ukraine revealed on Monday that Colonel Tarass Maksimov, one of the commanders of the brigade, was involved in a case of fictional payments and money from his troops.
According to these media, the Brigade also faces about 1,200 post posts, while its workforce has less than 5,000 soldiers, approximately half of which were trained in France.
“I asked for an additional official inspection”
“After the publication of the article in Ukrainska Pravda, I ordered an additional official inspection of the facts revealed by the journalists,” said Land Commander Mykhaïlo Drapaty, cited by the newspaper.
A spokesman for Ukrainian land forces confirmed this information on Tuesday, but refused to give more details.
In January, another Brigade commander was arrested for accusations of abuse of power and dropout.
Ana de kyiv’s Brigade had been criticized in the press from its deployment on the front, the Ukrainian staff had been markedly accused of having used their soldiers to “bite the holes” in other units. Around 2,300 brigade soldiers were trained on French soil and equipped with VAB French transport vehicles, AMX-10 tanks and César self-propelled cannons, as well as ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank and missile.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, visited soldiers in October 2024 of the 155th Ukrainian Brigade during his training in France.
Source: BFM TV
