Ex-command of 155th Brigade included evaders in lists for training in France - SBI
The former command of the 155th Brigade assisted the evaders in crossing the border by including them in the lists of people to be sent to France for training.
This was stated by the Communications Advisor to the SBI Director Tetiana Sapian, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.
"The lists for training in France included so-called evaders. These are people who try to illegally cross the border, find those who help them, pay money for it," she said.
According to Sapian, the former commander of the 155th Brigade was looking for such people and included them in the lists to be sent to France for training.
"It is a revealed scheme that worked in the brigade," she added.
The investigation is identifying all those involved and the circumstances of the offences in the 155th Brigade.
"Some servicemen, for example, because we understand that the army is not a school, not even a job, it is discipline first and foremost, could leave the unit without permission, return after a while, then leave again. And the command did not report this," Sapian concluded.
Situation in the 155th Brigade
As a reminder, on 1 January 2025, Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yurii Butusov outlined a number of facts about the circumstances of the formation and functioning of the 155th mechanised brigade "Anne of Kyiv", which entered the battle near Pokrovsk and suffered significant losses there.
According to him, the 155th Brigade faced a number of problems: 1,700 soldiers left the brigade without permission before the first battle, the brigade commander was fired immediately after the battle, and one of the brigade's leaders died of a heart attack.
Butusov conducted a lengthy investigation to find out what exactly led to the significant losses among the brigade's personnel and equipment and the massive AWOL.
In October, the 155th Brigade left for training in France. 1924 servicemen were sent there, of whom only 51 had more than a year of military service, 459 had up to a year of experience, and the majority, 1414, had just enlisted and served for less than 2 months, about 150 were sent to France even without undergoing the BGMT. About 50 military from brigade fled to France.
The editor-in-chief of Censor.NET also reports that the brigade has not been provided with the necessary weapons. In particular, the brigade did not receive any drones from the state to perform combat missions. Also, according to Butusov, there were no electronic warfare equipment. The brigade was supplied by volunteers.
In addition, all the 120 mm mortar shells produced by the Ministry of Strategic Industries that were issued to the brigade were defective.
On 2 January, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation had launched an investigation into mass AWOL in the 155th "Anne of Kyiv" Brigade following media reports. In turn, the French Ministry of Defence did not comment on the information that the 155th Anne of Kyiv Brigade, trained by the French armed forces, was the subject of an investigation in Ukraine.
Also in early January, the results of a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff regarding the 155th Brigade "Anne of Kyiv" were announced.
On 5 January, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi promised to increase the capabilities of the 155th Brigade and acknowledged that there were problems that needed to be addressed.
Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yurii Butusov said that the formation of new brigades without their support is a gross mistake that is costly for the country.
On 20 January 2025, the SSU detained the former commander of the 155th Brigade, Riumshyn.
On 22 January, Riumshyn is arrested with bail set at UAH 90 million.
