Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: 155th Brigade named after Anna Kyivska is promising and will prove itself
8 January 13:28
A special hotline of the Land Forces Commander will operate for the soldiers of the 155th Brigade, which will help to hear the soldiers and understand how the command’s decisions affect the motivation of the military and the real state of affairs in the brigade. This was announced by the Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
He said that he had recently reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the situation in the 155th Brigade, named the reasons and those responsible, and informed about the decisions taken by the Land Forces Command to support the unit and resolve the issues raised by both the soldiers and journalists. Mykhailo Drapaty also said that he had met with the brigade command and French journalists who are currently working in the unit and visiting the positions to see with their own eyes how the soldiers of the Anna Kyivska perform combat missions and operate the weapons provided by France.
As a reminder, the state of affairs in the 155th Anna Kyivska Brigade was the subject of an investigation by journalist Yuriy Butusov. He drew attention to the inadequate training of the brigade’s military, reported numerous facts of unauthorized departures from the unit, lack of provision of drones, etc.
In his post on Facebook, the Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty reminded that all the events related to the creation of the 155th Brigade had occurred before his appointment and stressed that as of today, after establishing all the circumstances, he could inform the public about the reasons for what happened in the brigade and the measures taken by the command to stabilize the situation in the 155th Brigade.
This is the first time a brigade has been formed like this
The formation and arming of a new brigade from scratch in cooperation with a foreign country was the first time, so, according to Mykhailo Drapaty, it was impossible to foresee all the nuances and details of this process. At the same time, the French side has fully fulfilled its obligations to Ukraine, and the commander thanked the partners.
For the Land Forces Command, a project of this magnitude was a challenge, and, according to Mykhailo Drapaty, not all services worked perfectly.
“During the generation of the new brigade, there was a formal attitude on the part of those in charge: this included improper management and control over the entire process; mistakes in recruitment and not always balanced decisions on managing the brigade’s personnel; imperfect planning of training both in Ukraine and abroad; and a delayed reaction of the high command to the problems that arose in the process of creating and acquiring capabilities by the new combat unit of the Land Forces,” the Land Forces Commander noted.
According to him, most of the systemic shortcomings committed by the Land Forces Command, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Operational Command at all stages of the formation of the 155th Brigade have been analyzed, assessed, and solutions are already being implemented.
At the same time, Mykhailo Drapaty expressed his belief that these problems will be inherent in any newly created unit if it is used in combat immediately after formation, and the high command must be aware of this and take it into account. However, the reasons why this is happening are also clear to everyone.
“The brigade has been at the front for less than a month. This is the period when all the shortcomings in manning and training are revealed. When the warrior spirit is revealed. I am very grateful to the soldiers who are adapting to the difficult conditions and fighting. Despite all the difficulties, the brigade has occupied the line, is performing combat missions, holding its positions, and at the same time is working to eliminate mistakes and improve combat capability,” emphasized Mykhailo Drapaty.
How problems are being eliminated
Currently, the focus is on manning the brigade with experienced officers and commanders of all ranks. The Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that he is personally searching for officers to recommend to the brigade, and as soon as this issue is resolved, the personnel will be manageable.
According to Mykhailo Drapaty, the brigade’s personnel have been training in difficult conditions, so a special group of psychologists is working to strengthen the brigade. And there are already some results, such as the return of soldiers who left the unit without permission.
According to the Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the main challenge faced by the brigade is the low efficiency and motivation of mid-level commanders who directly manage people.
“This, as well as the involvement of units in combat operations, determines the number of NCOs in the 155th Brigade. I should note that I have not observed massive cases of soldiers leaving their combat positions. Instead, I observe a certain substitution of concepts, when the number of the NWC is equal to the number of desertions. There is no simple recipe here – we need to work on solving all the problematic issues that cause AWOL, not only in the Land Forces, but in the Armed Forces as a whole,” emphasized Mykhailo Drapaty.
He also said that the brigade has now deployed an effective system for increasing additional training of soldiers, and the Ministry of Defense is involved in the process of providing the brigade with everything it needs to the maximum extent possible.
Mykhailo Drapaty also announced another decision: from now on, a special hotline of the Commander of the Land Forces will be available for the servicemen of the 155th Brigade by phone: 0800-500-410 (after listening – number 5).
“In addition to official daily reports, I want to have direct contact and hear from the soldiers, to understand how our decisions affect their motivation and the real state of affairs,” explained the decision Commander of the Ukrainian Army Mykhailo Drapaty and expressed his belief that “the newly created Ukrainian brigade named after Anna Kyivska can and should become a real “Galician cock” – a symbol of France: proud, unbreakable, and ready to fight for freedom.”
