Ukraine is investigating its French-trained special forces after reports of mass desertions and discipline problems

• Ukrainian investigators are investigating the 155th Mechanized Brigade, a unit partially trained by France.

• Named “Anne of Kyiv,” the much-publicized force was a French attempt to bolster Ukraine's defenses.

• But it is under scrutiny after a Ukrainian journalist said 1,700 of its soldiers had deserted.

Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation is investigating a group of soldiers trained to use French weapons after reports that hundreds of soldiers have left the unit.

Tetyana Sapian, spokeswoman for the investigative agency, told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday that authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the abuse of power and abandonment of the 155th Mechanized Brigade.

“The investigation is still ongoing, it is too early to talk about the first results,” he said.

The children's army, named “Anne of Kyiv” after the 11th-century Kyiv princess who became queen of France, has about 5,800 soldiers. About 2,000 of them were trained for months in France in 2024.

There, they enjoy a relatively high profile; French President Emmanuel Macron personally met a few of the 155 fighters during a public visit to the French territory in October.

Paris equipped the group with its own weapons, including 18 AMX 10 armored vehicles, 18 truck-mounted Caesar howitzers, and 128 troop carriers. The unit also maintains some of the German Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks.

In November, the 155th was due to take effect, French officials said, and that the Ukrainian soldiers were now equipped to fight and trained on Western battlefields.

1,700 abandoned, military correspondent says

But a report last week by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said that the military team had been dealing with issues of being abandoned by the leadership, even before it was sent to Pokrovsk.

“Before the soldiers fired the first shot, 1,700 soldiers left voluntarily,” Butusov wrote.

He did not provide evidence for his claim, but published unit strength figures later that said hundreds of men left every month from March to November, forcing the 155th to continue replenishing its staff.

A key factor in the level of abandonment, Butusov wrote, is that many of these units are forced to work on the streets of Ukraine. About 50 men also went AWOL while the unit was training in France, Butusov added.

Uncertainty also hangs over the leadership of 155. A few days earlier, the army commander, Col. Dmytro Ryumshin, suddenly announced that he will step down. Ryumshin, a veteran officer with experience commanding two other brigades, thanked his soldiers on Facebook, saying the 155th had gone through a “difficult but important journey.”

He was replaced by Col. Maksimov Taras Viktorovych, former commander of the 14th Mechanized Brigade.

The soldiers split into other units

The 155th has also been moving soldiers to other units that need to be filled, and according to Butusov, has undergone at least seven significant personnel changes since March.

Drone-jamming experts in the year 155, for example, had to fill the roles of children during the labor shortage, he wrote.

Mariana Bezuhla, a controversial member of the Ukrainian parliament who is known for criticizing the military leadership, said in early December that the 155th “is being torn to pieces, supported by others.”

“Even the fact that the French tried to create a special force did not save us from the stupid military decisions of our generals and divided the division,” he said.

Butusov's report has caused an outcry among Ukrainian figures, such as Lt. Col. Bohdan Krotevych, who serves as the chief of staff in the Azov Brigade.

“Perhaps it is foolish to create new brigades and equip them with new technology while the existing ones are not properly managed,” he wrote in X.

Serhii Sternenko, a well-known Ukrainian lawyer who provides crowdfunded drones to the military, said his organization is helping 155 because the military does not officially own drones and jammers.

“Why create a new brigade when the existing brigades are understaffed, but then separate and transfer personnel to the old brigades? What's the point?” he wrote on Tuesday in his Telegram channel.

The fate of the brigade threatens to damage the legacy of Macron's efforts to position France as a strong ally of Ukraine. Paris has promised to help Kyiv with three billion dollars, and Macron has been one of the most vocal European leaders who want Ukraine to join the European Union.

He also floated the idea of ​​sending French troops to Ukraine if Russia were to achieve greater success.

The French and Ukrainian Defense Ministries did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

The 155th Mechanized Brigade also did not respond to a similar emailed request by BI.

Overall, the “Anne of Kyiv” team is one of the few training programs that France and Europe have been working with Ukraine. As of late 2022, more than 63,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained under the European Union Military Assistance Mission, an EU-funded program that gets member states to train and equip Kyiv's forces.

The program has a budget of $420 million for the next two years ending in November 2026.

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