Dysfunction and Dereliction: The Collapse of the 155th Brigade Through a Deserter’s Eyes
Trainees from “Ivan’s” regiment ruck on a dirt road near an undisclosed 155th Mechanized Brigade training facility. // Photo credit: “Ivan”
“On ne passe pas – Вони не пройдуть – They shall not pass.”
This phrase was the siren call of the French military during the first World War, meant to represent their stalwart will to hold the line at all costs against the Kaiser’s advance.
110 years later, It became the motto of the 155th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade – the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, named after the 11-century princess of the state of Kyivan Rus (encompassing much of modern day Ukraine), who became queen of France upon her marriage to Henry I.
A WWI-era propaganda poster, circa 1918, showcasing the origins of the phrase “on ne passe pas”.
The brigade was announced to the public by president Zelenskyy on June 5th, 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It took the French motto after it was announced that the brigade’s recruits would be trained by French forces in France, rather than in Ukraine – a very public display of the French government’s support for the embattled Ukrainian nation. It was intended to symbolize both French support for Ukraine, and the deepening of Ukrainian-NATO military integration as a shining example of what might be achieved when determined Ukrainian personnel are equipped with modern gear and trained to NATO standards.
Instead, concerns immediately cropped up. Even before the brigade touched ground back in Ukraine, and well before its untimely demise on the Pokrovsk front in early 2025, a small but significant number of recruits, around 50 trainees, went AWOL inside of France – the first of many troubling warning signs which would ultimately result in the 155th’s near downfall.
OffBeat Research spoke to “Ivan”, a conscript who also made the decision to desert from the 155th alongside other early deserters, while still on training in France. He is referred to here under pseudonym for protection of his identity, as desertion is still treated seriously by Ukrainian authorities (particularly today, when manpower shortages threaten the country at multiple points on the front.)
Ivan attributes much of the brigade’s dysfunction to the circumstances behind its recruitment. Forceful mobilization, Ivan says, was the “dominant recruitment method” for the 155th – leading to inherently poor morale and an often insufficient application of basic training standards across the board.
For his part, Ivan was effectively kidnapped off the street. He had previously been active in volunteering and fundraising in western Ukraine, and was leaving the gym in 2024 when he was stopped by draft officers on the street in broad daylight at around 3PM. Here, the draft officers first asked him to submit to a brief health check. By 11PM the same night, Ivan says, he was made to sign paperwork and recruited into the Ukrainian armed forces, in a Kafkaesque process which left him less than 8 hours to sort out his affairs before being shipped off to training.
“Ivan” before his unceremonious conscription into the 155th Mechanized Brigade’s ranks. // Photo credit: Ivan
Ivan says he was dazed by the experience. Fearing the inevitability of forced recruitment, he had previously imagined what he would say and do in such a circumstance – but found that in the moment, none of that worked.
“In my imagination of getting recruited off the street, I thought I’d communicate that I’m donating a lot, volunteering, and that I have friends in the army [who] can get me in a position in the army that is more secure. I expected to get some time off to organize my life and get ready, and pick a brigade that I could fit in. That’s what I imagined […] It felt really bad. You expected better. You expected a dialogue, but felt powerless and trapped.“
Ivan was given two options: join the 5th Tank Brigade, which was already engaged in combat operations, or the 155th Mechanized Brigade, which was brand new and still in the early formation and training stages. Working off vague and unclear information about the future of the brigade, he made the calculation that if he joined the 155th, he might have time to transfer out to a safer position before seeing combat deployment.
What followed was 28 days of basic training, which took place inside Ukraine across a 35-day period. Even on training days, Ivan said, he had so much free time that he was able to finish four entire seasons of Better Call Saul in the downtime during training courses. The trainings themselves were filled with monotone lectures by unenthusiastic instructors, interspersed with short spurts of PT.
Once basic training concluded Ivan found himself, along with the rest of the 155th, en route to France for additional training and equipment by the French military. The training here was much better, he says – the French welcomed them warmly, and their instructors showed real care and attention. “We got the French clothing, we got the French supper, we came by NATO airplane, everyone was loving it! People had good vibes, finally something different, a change of scenery,” Ivan explained.
French trainers instruct Ivan’s group of recruits on proper methods of engagement. // Photo credit: Ivan
Despite the warm welcome and proper training regimen, issues began to arise. One significant problem was that much of the new brigade consisted of fresh recruits picked up by conscription officers off street corners. This meant a flimsy morale from the outset, which worsened each time trainees in the brigade were shifted elsewhere due to the overarching manpower shortage, something which happened with increasing frequency. As older recruits were rotated out to other brigades, the 155th was reinforced with new conscripts, creating a cycle of dysfunction. “95% of everyone around you was taken from the street not too long ago, felt kidnapped and put together,” Ivan said. “There were people who were ready to fight. There were scared people who were trying to see where it goes. But everyone saw the structure was poorly organized, and felt like they were going into the unknown.”
Training in France, Ivan believed individual unit roles had been improperly assigned. He noted people with no experience in flying drones landing drone pilot roles, while he himself was given a driver role despite lacking a driver’s license. Equipment shortages were another concern: Ivan estimated that there was just one drone to share per 10 trainees, totaling around 10 to 15 minutes of flying time per person.
Elements of the 155th Mechanized Brigade train on proper drone piloting and operation. // Photo credit: Ivan
Command issues quickly compounded, as well. His training group’s initial commander, the “funny one of the group” who Ivan initially met in a drunken and shirtless revel, was eventually replaced for an indeterminate reason by another officer, who apparently had prior combat experience from 2017. Ivan judged this new commander’s arrival to be disruptive to the morale, ethos, and composure of the training group.
When Ivan’s girlfriend finally found a spot in another brigade that was far from the contact line, Ivan requested a transfer to be with her. But it was denied, meaning he would be heading back to Ukraine with the 155th on its one-way course to the frontline outside Pokrovsk. He acknowledges that desiring transfer to a safer job, while others headed to the contact line to hold back the Russian advance, was selfish. But fear around the situation in the 155th and the dangers on the front made him act.
“I’m too afraid. That is the deciding point in the end. I’d still like to participate in other ways because I understand the importance of it.”
Ivan is seen fully geared during his time with the 155th. // Photo credit: Ivan
The compounding operational and command issues, along with Ivan’s escalating fear of dying on the front, led to his decision to flee the service while in France. “The vibes were always shaky, and you could see people constantly running away. In our brigade it was five people a week,” he said. “It was impossible not to see. In our recon group, there were three people that escaped before me.”
Ivan described looking outside the barbed wire gates of his training compound in France during a brief respite of sunshine on an otherwise rainy day, when a rainbow had formed on the horizon. Here, he felt a deep yearning for freedom. This feeling was compounded when his family tried to visit him in France, but the request was denied. This was the tipping point.
A beautiful rainbow is seen on the horizon beyond the barb-fenced training compound which once housed Ivan and other conscripted elements of the 155th. // Photo credit: Ivan
When he judged no one to be looking, Ivan made a break for it. He packed his things and dashed across the field, past the fenced area and into a car on a civilian road, which was driven from out of country by his getaway driver – a friend who he conspired in advance to organize the escape with.
As his friend drove onward towards freedom and people from the 155th began to overwhelm his phone with calls, he packed his lent military gear into a bag, gave the coordinates of that bag to his commander, switched his device into airplane mode, then went to McDonald’s. He had become a deserter.
In his mind, though, he had also become much safer, and much more free. With this decision, Ivan joined a reported 1,700 Ukranians within the 155th alone who decided to desert before the brigade even reached the front. Across the rest of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian prosecutor’s opened more than 60,000 cases of desertions last year alone, increasing to nearly double the number across the past two years combined. Ivan told me stories about a lack of equipment for the troops and frequent assaults that ended poorly, all things that could contribute to people wanting to abandon their post, and contributing to the “Anne of Kyiv” Brigade’s near demise in early January with (ultimately false) murmurs of potential disbandment due to desertions and high casualties.
Ivan says his experience has become an example to his friends and colleagues. With some considering signing up for the military before they have the chance to get drafted off the street, so they can get more choice in which brigade they join. He also describes difficult conversations with his friends still in the military who don’t agree with his choice to jump the fence in France. “I got tough words from a friend of mine that’s an assault trooper. He blamed me and other scared people for making his work harder. And I know I deserve these words. But I still just feel glad that I’m safe.”
Ivan’s conscripted comrades are seen marching on another ruck down a paved road in Ukraine. // Photo credit: Ivan
The story of the 155th nearly ended in the Donetsk region at the start of this year after the brigade’s desertions and malfunctions were widely publicized, with the foot soldiers that made up its ranks largely transferred out to other units stationed in other parts of the front, where bodies are needed in practically every direction. Yet the brigade still exists, with recent efforts to rebrand and rehabilitate its image in light of past failures. Meanwhile, other brigades throughout Ukraine have reportedly suffered from issues similar to the 155th, contributing to high desertion rates which have only worsened Ukraine’s already troublesome manpower concerns.
The Ukrainian Rada passed a bill late last year amid a record number of reported desertions, allowing first-time deserters to return to the armed forces while finally acknowledging that compounding concerns within the armed forces have driven away desperately needed manpower. If one believes he chooses between marching towards poorly managed disaster for his country or freedom for himself, you can not be surprised when many choose themselves instead of a romantic end.
