Office of Military Ombudsman on situation in 14th SMB: intervened when it became truly critical
The Office of the Military Ombudsman knew about the critical situation with supplies for servicemen of the 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade (SMB) named after Prince Roman the Great, a week and a half before it became public. The office was taking "all possible measures" to respond.
Olha Reshetylova, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for the protection of the rights of servicemen and their families, said this in a comment to Radio Liberty, Censor.NET reports.
The problem arose much earlier
According to her, at that point, the problems were already known to the command, which decided to replace the brigade commander. At the same time, she stressed that the situation must be thoroughly analysed to prevent similar cases in other areas of the front.
"The critical point came much earlier. And this requires study, including documents and reports. Who reported, to whom they reported, why the appropriate decision was not made, why it happened that these servicemen ended up completely isolated," she said.
Situation in other brigades
Reshetylova stressed that problems with food supplies to positions go beyond a single unit. According to her, this may be the result of untimely or incorrect decisions on the withdrawal or rotation of troops.
Asked about similar cases in other brigades, she said there was no information about the prolonged absence of logistics and food supplies, but cases of soldiers remaining in positions for too long were known.
"For example, yesterday the commander of one unit told us that he had managed to rotate out a serviceman who had been in position for 502 days," the official added.
The military ombudswoman also urged caution in spreading such information, as it could harm servicemen who have been cut off from logistics.
"The enemy understands our reaction and is trying to apply even more pressure on this sector. Therefore, I would urge everyone to be as careful as possible when spreading information, understanding that these people are there now and our task is to save their lives," she stressed.
Background
- The situation involving servicemen of the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 14th Brigade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, who are serving in the Kharkiv direction, gained public attention online. Relatives say the soldiers have been in extremely difficult conditions for eight months, with food and drinking water systematically unavailable at their positions.
- On the morning of 24 April, the General Staff reported that after problems were identified in the 14th Mechanised Brigade, the brigade commander had been removed from his post, while the commander of the 10th Army Corps had been dismissed and appointed to a lower-ranking position.
