Ukrainian and Western media reports are confirming that members of an elite Ukrainian brigade trained by French forces have deserted in alarming numbers, some before ever stepping foot into battle against Russia. The 155th “Anne of Kyiv” Mechanized Brigade, currently deployed near Pokrovsk, has been plagued by desertions and lack of properly accounting for troops. Some sources have described “organizational chaos” in the Western-backed initiative. At least 50 members of the brigade actually went AWOL while training inside France. The brigade later was sent to the battlefield with numbers greatly depleted. “About 1,700 soldiers from a Ukrainian unit equipped by the West and trained in France went AWOL before firing a shot,” The Telegraph writes. “At least 50 members of the new 155th mechanized brigade, one of the few to operate the Leopard 2 battle tank, disappeared while elements of the unit were being drilled in France.” “By the time it entered battle for the first time, at least 1,700 of its troops went absent without leave at numerous points. Some 500 soldiers were still missing, it was reported as recently as November,” the report indicates further. Originally the brigade was supposed to have about 5,800 troops, but less than […]