Butusov announced a large-scale SBU operation in the 155th brigade.

Journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that 1,700 servicemen from the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv, which was trained in France, left their service voluntarily even before the unit fired its first shot. The State Bureau of Investigations is examining the stated facts.

This was communicated by Yuriy Butusov and the communications advisor of the SBI Tetyana Sapyian in a comment to "Ukrainian Truth".

According to Butusov, from the very beginning of the formation of the 155th Brigade, it became evident that the Operational Command "West" lacked command personnel, soldiers, weaponry, and resources to create a new unit.

The journalist describes the process of forming the brigade as "complete organizational chaos in virtually all components." Since March, when the formation began, the number of personnel gradually increased.

Moreover, according to his data, in the summer, over 2,500 servicemen were taken from the brigade to reinforce other units: "That is, almost all fully capable personnel were taken from the brigade, whom the brigade commander and battalion commanders had just assigned to positions, effectively nullifying all the previous four months of work."

According to Butusov, in October, when the brigade went for training in France, the personnel count was 935. In France, another 50 soldiers deserted.

"While the entire brigade command was training in France, without the presence of brigade and battalion commanders, the enrollment of thousands of new personnel was carried out. As a result, in October and November, immediately after being enrolled into the brigade, over 700 individuals deserted in Ukraine, having never seen their commanders," the journalist notes.

In the absence of the brigade's headquarters and battalion commanders, untrained and uncoordinated recruits began to be transferred to the Pokrovsk area, writes Butusov.

The brigade commander, Dmytro Ryumshin, was removed shortly after the brigade entered combat. The commission of the Ground Forces Command concluded that he was responsible for the desertion of 50 servicemen in France, the journalist states. This only intensified the chaos in management.

According to Butusov, over 9 months, the 155th Brigade changed its staff 7 times, while the training level of most personnel remained low.

Furthermore, the brigade lacked a sufficient number of drones and electronic warfare systems, which led to the loss of new "Leopard-2A4" tanks and VAB armored vehicles during their first attempts at frontline deployment.

The journalist asserts that before deployment to the front, the Operational Command "West" and the General Staff assessed the brigade's capability as "unsatisfactory" in the Capability Assessment Act, but "someone pressured from above," and the assessment was changed.

Butusov reported that in December, the State Bureau of Investigations opened a criminal case regarding the formation of the 155th mechanized brigade. A representative of the SBI confirmed that the investigation "is examining the facts presented in the media."

A criminal proceeding has been opened under the following articles:

• Art. 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Exceeding authority or official powers by a military official";
• Art. 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Desertion".

"The investigation is ongoing. It is still too early to speak about any preliminary results," Sapyian noted.

Background. Previously, Mind reported that journalist Butusov talked about the catastrophic situation in the 155th Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv, which underwent training in France.