Talk:155th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)

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Desertion

I think we should include the Mass desertion of this unit in the history.https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/12/31/details-of-the-scandal-1700-people-escaped-from-the-155th-brigade-of-the-armed-forces-of-ukraine-even-before-the-first 91.106.124.226 (talk) 16:39, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have a better-quality source for this info? In that one, I see some "suspicious" spelling and choice of words perhaps hinting to its origin, e.g.

```

the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky

``` 2001:7D0:8C42:B400:703:918F:3D91:3D71 (talk) 21:43, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I only read the headline so sorry about the Bad source. This one is better https://www.kyivpost.com/post/44834 91.106.124.226 (talk) 20:59, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

EA daily is Russian propaganda outlet, but the scandal is huge in Ukraine. A top Azov officer just commented on one article here: https://x.com/BohdanKrotevych/status/1874489196263428544 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.246.147.217 (talk) 22:16, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

For my part, I do not find that the scandal is enormous in Ukraine. Certainly, most online newspapers have reported the affair in an article (but no more), and always and systematically in the mode "Butusov said that". No media has taken up Butusov's allegations on its own. On the other hand, there is a certain enthusiasm among all opposition media in France to take up Butusov's allegations without filter, and among all international media adept at French-bashing to do the same (while Butusov did not engage in French-bashing). Moreover, the SZCH is not desertion, and Butusov never said that either. Butusov said that in November, 1700 soldiers of the brigade went to the SZCH, but he forgot to say that the brigade commander was dismissed for this and that half of the soldiers returned, and he also forgot to say that this same commander had already been dismissed from the 47th Magura for the same reasons in the spring of 2024. And in the spring, Butusov, himself pro-Porochenko, had taken up the cause for Ryumshin against Zelenski. For me, Butusov said that, he is the only one to say it and he is increasingly disavowed by the facts, this does not constitute a scandal. However, there has indeed been a media frenzy.Christian28TMA (talk) 15:31, 12 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Maksimov and Rysuhin have Ukrainian articles

If someone wants to link them too. 94.246.147.217 (talk) 23:21, 5 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Desertion and SZCH

Hello,

I am one of the main contributors to the French article on this brigade, and I notice multiple flaws in the English article:

First of all, there is a confusion between desertion and departure to SZCH [uk], which leads to a distortion of Butusov's statements (anti-Zelenski blogger, pro-Porochenko): he did not say that there were about fifty desertions in France and 1700 in Ukraine; he said that 50 soldiers deserted in France (a figure confirmed between 51 and 55 according to sources) and 1700 joined the SZCH (a figure confirmed only by the Pravda of Moscow).

Additionally, only Mariana Bezouhla (opposition deputy) claimed that the brigade was deployed in November 2024 south of Pokrovsk (in November, the brigade was in France and Poland).

The brigade was not dissolved on January 4, 2025, since its deployment to the front started around December 14, 2024, and ended on January 7, 2025, with all battalions and organic units on the Pokrovsk sector.

I think the English article should be revised and better linked to the cited sources. I also believe that, in this field where propaganda reigns, it is important to carefully differentiate between cross-verified sources and those that are not. If I were more proficient in English, I would have already made multiple corrections to this article: when there is a source at the end of a sentence, the cited article must contain at least part of what the sentence says. And when a source is not cross-verified by another source that is not a mirror of the first, this must be specified in the article. Cordialement : Christian28TMA (talk) 09:51, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, this brigade has been disbanded. Such an army unit no longer exists. I understand that, as a frenchman, you want to justify the shame and corruption in this brigade and blame russian propaganda for everything. But even Ukrainian sources admit failure. 217.15.159.34 (talk) 15:22, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I am sorry, unregistered user 217.15.159.34, but not only was the brigade not disbanded on jan/4/2025, it captured four Russian soldiers yesterday, jan/11/2025, in the Pokrovsk region, where it has been fully deployed since jan/7/2025 following the arrival of reconnaissance elements since mid-December. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a forum, and it must cross-check its information and source it. If a single source claims that the brigade was disbanded on the 4th, and that the brigade recorded a victory, even a small one, on the 7th, and that several international journalists visited the brigade's combat posts between January 5 and 10, you might want to question the single source. That said, I am not on French Wikipedia; registered contributors on English Wikipedia are free to do what they want with my comments. Sincerely.Christian28TMA (talk) 15:10, 12 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Postscript : source for the capture of the 4 Russian soldiers by the 155th Brigade : Butusov : https://censor.net/ru/videonews/3529806/boyitsy-155-ombr-vzyali-v-plen-4-okkupantov-na-pokrovskom-napravlenii Christian28TMA (talk) 15:46, 12 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A better way of phrasing it would be

50 deserted in France

1700 went AWOL and/or deserted in Ukraine

Its possible Bezhula is partially correct as elements of the Brigade could've been sent ahead 47.17.206.157 (talk) 12:12, 13 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello User talk:47.17.206.157, No, Butusov makes a clear distinction between the fifty or so soldiers who deserted in France with no intention of returning to the flags, which is a serious crime in Ukraine, and the 1700 who went to SZCH by informing their hierarchy and with the intention of returning to the flags within a reasonable timeframe, which is a minor administrative infraction. This infraction is punished by a suspension of the soldier's pay, which resumes as soon as the soldier returns to duty (similar to an unpaid leave of absence, without notice, and without the hierarchy's approval). In contrast, desertion is a grave crime punishable by 10 years in prison. If they are at SZCH, it is because they informed their hierarchy within 3 days and are therefore not missing. Furthermore, only Butusov mentions the figure of 1700 who went to SZCH, and this must also be mentioned. As for the missing, to the best of my knowledge, there is 1 missing in action within the brigade, but I have only seen a request for information on Facebook, which is not sufficient to mention in a Wikipedia article.Christian28TMA (talk) 14:37, 13 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Dissolution (fake news)

It's time to do something to remove the numerous fake news from this article, especially the one about its supposed dissolution: not only has the 155th not been dissolved, but it continues to fight, reinforced by drone platoons, electronic equipment, and it also records successes, such as the recapture of lost positions.

Keeping Russian propaganda fake news on the English Wikipedia seriously harms Wikipedia's credibility.

I hope English-speaking contributors will remedy this situation and at least ensure that their information is not contradictory to reality. Citing known fake news is fine, as long as it is specified that they are fake news.

Wikipedia contributors need to cross-check their information before publishing it, and ensure that this information is not contradictory to more recent information.

Latest success of the 155th brigade:

February 3, 2025: The fighters examine six occupants in a forest belt: "Yesterday and the day before, we beat them up."

February 3, 2025: "Coordinated work": the Ukrainian Armed Forces praised the scandalous 155th brigade fighting at the front (video)
Christian28TMA (talk) 10:56, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, the Brigade has not been disbanded and they have been publishing combat footage. Furthermore, this Kyiv Independent article quoting General Syrskyi from 23 January clearly contradicts all these claims of dissolution. https://kyivindependent.com/syrskyi-sees-gradual-improvement-in-scandal-ridden-155th-brigades-capabilities/ Musketeiro8 (talk) 13:05, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, there are no official sources confirming the disbandment of the Brigade. Moreover, none of the news articles used as sources for this claim state that the Brigade has been disbanded, but that it was “dispersed” or “split into smaller units” (a common occurrence with Ukrainian Brigades).

The article needs to be updated to correct this misunderstanding. Barfodt (talk) 14:47, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

yo yo yo! i got some additional footage from twitter: https://x.com/moklasen/status/1888171818151760068

shows the drone unit "manticora" of the 155th mechanized brigade striking a russian M113 recently.

whoever wrote about the dissolution of this brigade should remove that section Mobius1TH (talk) 12:58, 8 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

UNITED24 published a video about the 155th in Pokrovsk just 17 hours ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHzXjXBIdrU Musketeiro8 (talk) 10:33, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Desertion vs AWOL vs Transfer

There is major confusion about this, so as far as I can tell from the sources: there are around 1000 cumulative reports of soldiers going AWOL in the unit, which is higher than average for a unit of this size and age, but this is arguably a consequence of repeated reorganization and foreign training. It is not desertion and does not imply it.

Separately, there was a documented case of mass desertion. 50 men deserted the unit while in France.

And, finally, there are the several thousand men transferred to other units of the UAF. This seems to have caused confusion in certain Western journalists trying to regurgitate material they read with Google Translate.

I've picked through some of the statements and removed the ones which are more overtly misconstruing their information. It is also worthy of note that some of the statements, particularly the statement of 700 AWOL cases while some of the unit was in France, have been contested. Just-a-can-of-beans (talk) 13:37, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]