Die ukrainische Brigade „Anna von Kiew“, die in Frankreich ausgebildet und dann an die Front verstreut wurde, erleidet Rückschläge

There it was, deployed in a position some 15 kilometers from the Russian front lines: the French Caesar self-propelled howitzer, concealed under camouflage netting. The cloud cover was so low on this last morning of 2024 that the commander of several self-propelled artillery units took the opportunity to pay his men a quick visit. “The sky is with us,” said the 26-year-old senior officer, “Cossack” by his nom de guerre, rejoicing in the fog that was limiting Russian drone flights. Along the edge of the woods between two fields, a few men were smoking cigarettes, drinking tea and trying to keep warm in a makeshift shelter dug into the black, frozen ground.

Just two months ago, far from here, they were all taking part in training in eastern France, with the aim of forming the 155^(th) mechanized brigade, dubbed the “Anne of Kyiv” and equipped by France. The announcement of the unit’s creation was made by French President Emmanuel Macron during the commemorations of the 80^(th) anniversary of the Normandy landings, attended by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. Over the course of nine weeks, this “unprecedented, unique program,” according to French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, would train some 2,300 men, joined by other soldiers trained in Ukraine, for a total of 4,500 men.

French military equipment was also supplied: 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers, 128 front armored vehicles (VAB), 18 AMX-10 RC fire reconnaissance tanks, 10 Renault TRM trucks and 20 Milan anti-tank missile firing posts. In addition, some 30 German Leopard 2A4 battle tanks were provided by Poland.

“Cossack” readily admitted that a significant proportion of his men had only recently been mobilized. For instance, it was just last spring that “Malyna,” 45, was working construction in his native Ivano-Frankivsk region when he was called up after being stopped in the street on his way to work. Now, after months of training, he has been promoted to crew chief, operating the Caesar. “It’s hard, but we’re holding on,” he said, after praising the quality of French training on the self-propelled howitzers, renowned for its precision and speed.

“We’re fully equipped,” said “Cossack,” back in his command post in a small village a few kilometers to the rear. He told us that there were no problems in his ranks, despite the fact that the artillery division had been sent immediately upon its return to one of the most active areas of the front, in the Donbas, between the towns of Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka.

But the deployment of this new brigade in December 2024 sparked a huge scandal across the country, triggered by military journalist and editor-in-chief of the [Censor.net](http://Censor.net) media, Yuri Butusov. Butusov called into question the dispersal of the brigade into several small units, sent to support other brigades on the frontline, as early as mid-December.

A fortnight later, on December 31, he was back at it again, publishing a long investigation accusing the military and political officials. The journalist describes a unit − formed as far back as March 2024 − that was in “utter organizational chaos in all its components” and which would eventually be deployed with other units along the front to “plug the holes.” He claimed that internal problems caused “1,700” soldiers to abandon their units before the first shot was fired, whether they had been trained in France or Ukraine. Fifty cases of desertion were also recorded in France.

Read the full story by clicking on this link: [https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/01/04/ukraine-s-anne-of-kyiv-brigade-trained-in-france-then-dispersed-to-the-front-line-suffers-setbacks_6736700_4.html](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/01/04/ukraine-s-anne-of-kyiv-brigade-trained-in-france-then-dispersed-to-the-front-line-suffers-setbacks_6736700_4.html)