Law enforcement officials have detained the former commander of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Anna Kyivska. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigations, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Security Service of Ukraine.
The name of the detained individual has not been disclosed; however, according to sources in law enforcement, it is Colonel Dmytro Ryumshin.
According to the investigation, the ex-commander failed to respond to violations within his unit, including the unauthorized departure of his soldiers from the military unit.
The commander also deliberately neglected other actions mandated by his official duties. Specifically, throughout 2024, he did not report any incidents involving subordinate soldiers who committed criminal offenses to the pre-trial investigation authorities.
It has been established that the colonel was aware of the disciplinary issues within his brigade over the past year. The command staff of the military unit reported these issues to him not only verbally but also submitted written reports and notifications regarding the criminal offenses committed by subordinate soldiers.
These offenses included unauthorized departures from the military unit and service locations, as well as the failure of soldiers to return from leave, assignments, and sick leave. However, the commander did not inform the pre-trial investigation authorities about the identified facts.
Due to the commander’s actions, law enforcement was unable to initiate legal procedures for searching and returning soldiers to the military unit and reserve battalions, or in some cases, ensuring they served their sentences for committed crimes.
Some subordinates periodically left their place of service without permission, then voluntarily returned, only to repeat this behavior, feeling completely unaccountable for such illegal actions.
The systematic concealment by the former brigade commander of a significant number of crimes committed by subordinate soldiers negatively impacted the operational effectiveness of the brigade's command authorities.
Additionally, the commander did not take other preventive measures to eliminate the causes and conditions that contributed to the unauthorized departures of subordinates from the military unit. In particular, the colonel included individuals unmotivated to serve in the military on the list of those planned for training in France. Among them were individuals who had warnings and prohibitions in directives and orders from higher authorities.
Specifically, 22 soldiers called up from border regions, whose registered addresses were in other regions, as well as 15 soldiers who faced administrative penalties in 2024 for attempting to escape from Ukraine prior to their mobilization for military service. As a result, 56 soldiers from the brigade left training grounds in France without authorization.
The actions of the ex-commander complicated the Armed Forces of Ukraine's ability to fulfill defense functions and execute specific combat tasks due to insufficient personnel. This also undermined the prestige and authority of both the military unit and the Defense Forces as a whole, reduced combat readiness and capability of the unit, and led to the emergence of new military threats to Ukraine's national security.
Law enforcement officials have detained the former brigade commander of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He will be transported to Kyiv to be informed of the suspicion against him for failing to report to the pre-trial investigation authorities about a subordinate who committed a criminal offense, as well as for other deliberate failures to carry out duties that he was obligated to perform under military service, which occurred during wartime and caused significant harm (Part 4 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The penalty under this article can result in imprisonment for up to 10 years.
A motion will also be filed with the court to impose a preventive measure of detention on the suspect.
Mass desertion in the 155th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after Anna Kyivska, formed in the spring of 2024 under the auspices of France, became known at the end of December — early January.
Journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that 1,700 soldiers deserted from the brigade without engaging in combat, and another 50 fled during training in France.
A representative of the French army confirmed that several dozen Ukrainian soldiers deserted during training in France.
The Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty explained these cases by stating that the new brigade was formed "in a very short period — just a few months." This led to a "formal attitude on the part of responsible individuals."
Brigade Commander Dmytro Ryumshin was dismissed in December 2024 "due to failures in motivating soldiers and managing the unit."