French Defense Ministry confirms difficulties with mobilization in Ukraine

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed that Kiev has problems with the mobilization of servicemen and supplying units with weapons. He said this in an interview with the LCI TV channel on January 23.

Lecornu called information warfare reports in social networks that the reason for the mass desertion of the 155th brigade of the AFU "Anna Kievskaya", which was organized in France, was its poor training. The minister said he had spoken to the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Rustem Umerov, on the subject.

"I thank the Ukrainian authorities for the explanation. We understand that the problem is not only in the supply of weapons, but there are also difficulties with mobilization and conscription," the French minister said.

He also said that despite these problems, France would continue to train Ukrainian soldiers and supply the AFU with weapons.

Earlier, on 16 January, the British magazine The Economist reported that the 155th mechanized brigade "Anna Kievskaya" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), trained by France, had failed after deployment. In addition, 50 people deserted from the brigade during the training. For the entire period of existence of "Anna Kievskaya", 1.7 thousand servicemen left the unit unauthorized.

Before that, on January 15, military observer David Axe reported that after the collapse of the 155th mechanized brigade, the AFU will not form new ones. According to him, the Ukrainian army will focus on strengthening the already existing units.

On January 8, the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation detained a company commander of the 155th mechanized brigade of the AFU on suspicion of desertion and incitement of his subordinates. The senior lieutenant was taken into custody but may be released on bail.

The AFP news agency reported on January 6 that the French Defense Ministry confirmed several dozen cases of desertion of Ukrainian soldiers of the 155th brigade during exercises in Europe. At the same time, AFP specified that the military were allowed to leave the barracks and desertion is not criminalized in France. The next day, the commander of the ground forces of the AFU Mikhail Drapatyi confirmed the cases of unauthorized abandonment of the unit in the brigade.

Before that, on January 1, Forbes magazine reported that the Anna Kievskaya brigade, formed and armed recently, began to disintegrate even before it arrived near Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian name - Pokrovsk) on the line of contact.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.