Among the 26,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained by Poland, there are deserters, as is the case in every army around the world, stated Polish Deputy Minister of Defense Cezary Tomczyk, as reported by Radio Liberty.
Commenting on reports of Ukrainian soldiers fleeing during training in Europe, the official emphasized that Poland has trained the largest number of Ukrainian military personnel.
"Today, this number exceeds 26,000. Within this group of 26,000, there are those who have different plans or believe their future does not lie in the Ukrainian army. Such cases probably occur. It is a sufficiently large group of people. However, I believe that the details should remain between us," said Tomczyk.
He noted that instances of military desertion would not impact the cooperation between Ukraine and Poland regarding military exercises. He stated that Poland is doing everything "to assist the Ukrainian side, ensuring Ukraine knows it can rely on us, and we wish to continue training Ukrainian soldiers in Poland so they can defend their country."
"I think it's obvious that cases of desertion do happen, and this occurs in every army worldwide," Tomczyk remarked.
Regarding the desertion of specifically Ukrainian soldiers, the deputy minister said that "this is a marginal issue that has no influence on the training of Ukrainian military personnel in Poland."
When asked if there were any requests from the Ukrainian side concerning the desertions of Ukrainian soldiers during transit to France or back, Tomczyk replied that he did not recall such instances.
Desertion of Ukrainian Soldiers from the 155th Brigade: Latest News
As previously reported by UNIAN, on January 8, the commander of a company in the 155th brigade was arrested for not only leaving his post without authorization but also inciting his subordinates to do the same. He has been informed of the charges against him.
The commander of the Ground Forces, Mikhail Drapatiy assured that systemic shortcomings in the formation of the brigade have been analyzed, assessed, and solutions are being implemented for specific issues. He stated that "these problems are inherent to any newly formed unit if it is deployed in combat operations immediately after its formation."
In the Rada, there was also reaction to the scandal in the 155th brigade. Committee member for national security, defense, and intelligence Solomiya Bobrovska described the situation with the unit as "unpleasant and disgraceful," but not as straightforward as reported by the media. According to her, prior to deployment for training in France, military command had warned that the soldiers were not prepared to go. Additionally, there was a request to postpone these departures to better staff and select personnel.