It was supposed to be the showpiece of Nato’s support for the war in Ukraine – the first of 14 almost entirely Western-trained and equipped brigades that would push back the advancing Russian army.
In reality, the 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade was, in the words of one Ukrainian war correspondent, “from its first days, complete organisational chaos”.
Announced during D-Day commemorations in Normandy last June by Emmanuel Macron, the brigade was given the finest French military instructors and weaponry at a cost of more than €900 million.
