Media reported desertion of hundreds of military personnel from the 157th brigade of the AFU

At least one third of all military personnel of the 157th separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have left its location unauthorized. This was reported by the Ukrainian edition of Hromadske on January 24.

"This newly created brigade has not passed the necessary combat approval, but it was immediately sent to the hottest directions - Pokrovsk and Kurakhov. The command ignores the relatives", - writes the edition, referring to the words of relatives of the military.

One of the brigade fighters told the publication that 48 new fighters were sent to the front line without training, and all of them died. And no one took the bodies of their dead comrades.

Another serviceman said that the brigade was being "dismantled for spare parts," hence the lack of coherent work. He added that the already created battalions are being redirected to other parts of the front.

It is specified that the 157th separate mechanized brigade began to be formed in the spring of 2024, and it began to perform combat tasks in November.

On January 20, a captured AFU fighter Viktor Gordienko said that in the infantry the place of commanders was taken by sergeants, who sent the military to defend positions without training and the necessary stockpiles of weapons. According to the prisoner, one day he and his fellow soldiers were brought to a dugout at the position and ordered to hold the defense. On December 29, 2024, they began shooting at them, one of the fighters was killed, three escaped, Gordienko himself reached the nearest town through the fields.

Earlier, last November 13, Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky estimated Ukraine's daily losses at 1.5 thousand people.

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