Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty commented on the situation with unauthorized abandonment of units (UAU) in the newly created 155th Brigade named after Anna Kyivska. According to him, although there are problems, there have been no massive cases of abandonment of combat positions, and equating UAU with desertion is a “substitution of concepts.”
The main reason for the UAU, Drapaty said, is the low efficiency and motivation of mid-level commanders who directly supervise personnel. The commander emphasized that he is working to find new officers to strengthen the brigade’s leadership and reminded about the introduction of a special hotline for feedback from the military.
“There is no simple recipe here – we need to work on solving all the problematic issues that cause UAU, not only in the Land Forces, but in the Armed Forces as a whole. The number of UAUs in the brigade will be reduced in proportion to the decisions that will affect the combat capability and motivation of the personnel,” emphasized Drapaty.
At the same time, the commander thanked the journalists for covering the problems, emphasizing that the first combat operations are a difficult test for the newly created brigade. “The 155th Brigade named after Anna Kyivska is a promising one. Despite all the difficulties, I am confident that it will prove to be an indestructible combat unit,” he added.
Earlier, journalist Yuriy Butusov said that since the formation of the brigade, about 1,700 soldiers have left it, including 50 who fled during exercises in France. He described the formation process as “organizational chaos”.