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How to Spend €900M and Lose NATO-Trained Ukrainian 155th Mechanized Brigade

Ukraine’s “elite” brigade - named “Anne of Kiev” after the 11th-Century princess (known in France as “Anne of Russia”) who married into royalty - has made global headlines, though not quite for the reasons its creators might have hoped.

Why?

The brigade was formed in 2024 when Ukraine was running out of willing recruits and resorted to press-ganging. France trained 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers for the unit and 50 promptly deserted before seeing combat.

Once deployed to the conflict zone, desertion surged, with nearly a thousand troops reportedly disappearing almost immediately.

On the battlefield, the brigade’s notable “accomplishment” was shedding personnel to both enemy fire and mass AWOLs, ultimately leaving the unit in tatters.

This downfall came despite the brigade being equipped with NATO-grade hardware, including Leopard 2 tanks, AMX-10RC fighting vehicles, and Caesar howitzers - an arsenal that did little to keep the unit intact.

The debacle raises questions about NATO’s training methods. Several Ukrainian soldiers have called these approaches outdated and ill-suited to modern warfare, and the 155th’s collapse seems to confirm their complaints.

Modern training is crucial: deployed near Krasnoarmeisk, the brigade lacked drones and EW tools, leaving them stuck in 2022-era tactics.

Now Kiev is investigating why the brigade turned into a €900 million disaster.

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