Main reason for AWOL is lack of motivation and clear terms of service, - colonel Riumshyn
Former commander of the 155th Brigade Dmytro Riumshyn stated that the reasons for soldiers deserting during training abroad are the same as in Ukraine.
He spoke about this in an interview with Censor.NET.
The colonel listed 7 reasons for AWOL.
"1) The actual absence of punishment for AWOL, as there is exemption from punishment for the first AWOL;
2) Law enforcement agencies do not actually search for AWOL soldiers, and those who are caught do not bear any responsibility, not even administrative;
3) The absence of terms of service during martial law;
4) The mobilization of people who were actually trying to evade military service or had low motivation;
5) the fact that motivated personnel began to be taken from military units to other units. People in the unit thought that they would be thrown into battle without training. In fact, this is what happened later;
6) sending personnel to the combat zone on the orders of OC "West" without commanders, directly from the border. The headquarters and command of the brigade and battalions were still undergoing training in France, while the personnel went to the Pavlohrad area;
7) the constant sending of the command and headquarters for long-term training (three times the same ones), which affected the quality of management and work with personnel," he listed.
However, Riumshyn noted that among all the reasons, one stands out above the rest.
"Namely, distrust of the country's military and political leadership, specifically the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces," the colonel emphasised.
Ryumshin believes that behind the case against him may be "a state official who can influence the court, give instructions to the SBI and the Military Criminal Investigation Department."
"Who is it? I won't tell you because I don't know, but there aren't many of them, he said.
Riumshyn also named three reasons why proceedings were brought against him directly.
"In my opinion, there are three reasons:
1) to appoint someone to take the blame for the failure to form a brigade;
2) to remove a commander who asks a lot of uncomfortable questions and constantly demands what is necessary for war;
3) to show other military commanders what will happen to them if they have their own opinion," the colonel concluded.
Read the interview with former commander of the 155th Brigade Dmytro Riumshyn and his lawyer Andrii Yosypov on Censor.NET.
The situation in the 155th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the case against its commander, Colonel Riumshyn
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 "Anna Kyivska", 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 of brigade personnel and equipment and 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 experience, 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 brigades fled to France.
The editor-in-chief of Censor.NET also reports that the brigade was not provided with the necessary weapons. In particular, the brigade has not received a single drone from the state to carry out 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 given to the brigade were defective.
On 2 January, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation had launched an investigation into the massive AWOL in the 155th "Anna Kyivska" Brigade following media reports. In turn, the French Ministry of Defence did not comment on the information that the 155th "Anna Kyivska" 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 "Anna Kyivska" became known.
On 5 January, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, promised to increase the capabilities of the 155th Brigade and admitted that there were problems that needed to be addressed.
The editor-in-chief of Censor.NET, Yurii Butusov, said that the formation of new brigades without their support was a gross mistake that was costly for the country.
On 20 January 2025, the former commander of the 155th Brigade, Riumshyn, was detained by the SSU. And on 22 January, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv imposed a bail of UAH 90 million on him.
On 6 February, the Kyiv Court of Appeal left Riumshyn in custody. The court refused to release him on bail, instead reducing the bail from UAH 90 million to UAH 50 million.
On 11 June, the court remanded Riumshyn in custody until 20 July and reduced his bail to UAH 27 million.
On 4 September, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv reduced the bail for the former commander of the 155th Brigade, Dmytro Riumshyn, from UAH 22.7 million to UAH 14.9 million.
On 11 September, the court reduced the bail to 10 million hryvnias, leaving Riumshin in custody.
