POKROVSK, Ukraine -- The French-trained 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine's armed forces will only have existed for a year this coming spring. It is already well-known for all the wrong reasons.
Wracked by desertions and what one war correspondent called "complete organizational chaos," the unit has become a byword for doubts about the feasibility of pursuing a NATO-style remodeling of Ukraine's military while facing down Russia's full-scale, three-year invasion.
These days, deployed to the embattled Donbas city of Pokrovsk, brigade members have little time to reflect on the brigade's larger problems.
"Those who wanted to run away, ran away. Those who wanted to stay, stayed," Petro, who asked to only use his first name in line with Ukrainian military protocol, told Current Time.
Has Ukraine Solved Its Military Personnel Issue?
Beset by personnel and recruitment problems, Ukraine's commanders -- not to mention Western military advisers-- had pinned many of their hopes on tapping NATO expertise and weaponry to form new, modernized brigades that would be at the vanguard of efforts to roll back Russia's onslaught.
That hasn't happened, and Ukrainian forces are now struggling to hold their defenses across the 1,100 kilometer front line.
For many, in Ukraine and the West, the woes of the 155th encapsulate broader institutional problems in Kyiv's armed forces.
For the soldiers of the 155th deployed to Pokrovsk, however, a far more immediate concern is whether the French supplied AMX-10 -- a rapid, maneuverable but relatively vulnerable armored vehicle -- can withstand further strikes from Russian drones patrolling Ukrainian airspace.
"It has looked after me so far, but other crews got hurt," Petro said, as he pointed to first-person view (FPV) drones as a major danger for the unit.
FPV drones are piloted by a person wearing goggles who can watch the drones' flight in live time. Russian FPVs have served as a critical weapon for both sides in the war.
How Many Soldiers Deserted The 155th Brigade?
In France last year, the 155th received training to use the AMX-10 and other weaponry.
While there, however, some of the brigade's soldiers deserted. Others abandoned the brigade upon returning to Ukraine.
Media reports have put overall desertions as high as 1,700, or a third of the brigade's total.
The unit's commander, Colonel Dmytro Ryumshin, was detained by investigators in December in connection with the desertions.
Last month, Kyiv's Pechersky District Court authorized his arrest for a two-month period in connection with charges of "inaction in a combat situation."
Ryumshin has denied any wrongdoing.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the State Investigative Bureau have also opened a joint investigation, looking into alleged corruption in the brigade as well as the desertions.
Petro struck an upbeat note for the unit now, saying it's "come together normally" and is no longer "a brigade that basically came to the front from scratch and did not know anything," in spite of the French training, he told Current Time.
Hennadiy, another unit member who spoke briefly before disappearing down a hatch in the AMX-10 with a cigarette, said the unit had already taken several Russian soldiers hostage.
He also refused to criticize those who deserted. "Situations can be different," he said.
Why Did Ukrainian Soldiers Desert?
Among the problems the unit reported facing included haphazard formation and staffing, low morale -- further compounded by the desertions -- and what unconfirmed reports described as disproportionately high casualties in its early days of its fighting near Pokrovsk in December.
Some troops have also complained of a lack of access to drone technology.
Ukrainian soldiers from another unit deployed near Pokrovsk claimed that Ukraine has had some progress in pegging back the Russian advance there.
"For a while, it was only the enemy moving forward, while we retreated. Now we are not just holding our positions but our glorious infantrymen have moved forward," another soldier, called Rana, told Current Time earlier this month.
The AMX-10s have been criticized by some Ukrainian soldiers for having thin armor; one major declared them as "impractical" for the heavily bombarded front lines saturated with sophisticated and powerful drones.
Inside the mainly deserted Pokrovsk, the streets are littered with military and civilian vehicles that have been destroyed by Russian drones-- some of which now fly with the help of fiberoptic cables that make them immune to electronic countermeasures.
"I've been hit a lot," said Anton, a Ukrainian military driver, who spoke to Current Time as he sped through the city. "There was even a direct hit once. I managed to get out of the car. A colleague came to pick me up. Thank God it wasn't fatal."
