The former command of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade assisted draft dodgers in crossing the state border under the pretense of being Ukrainian soldiers traveling for military training in France, Adviser to the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Tetiana Sapyan said on Friday.

"The so-called draft dodgers were listed as trainees traveling to France. These are people who attempts to cross the border illegally, seek out those who could help them, and pay big money for this," she said on the national telethon.

According to Sapyan, the former commander of the 155th brigade sought such individuals and added them to the lists.

"This scheme was uncovered within the brigade," the SBI adviser said.

The investigation is currently working to identify those involved and uncover the details of the violations in the 155th Brigade.

"For example, some servicemen could leave the unit without authorization, return after a period of time, and then leave again, although we must understand that the army is not a school, and not even a regular job, discipline is the top priority here. And the command never reported that," Sapyan said.

As reported, on January 20, the SBI detained the former commander of the 155th Anne de Kyiv Brigade, under whose command numerous cases of unauthorized absence from the unit were recorded. According to the investigation, the commander did not take preventive measures to eliminate the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of AWOL by subordinates. As a result, 56 soldiers of the brigade left the training grounds in France.

According to the SBI, the commander also willfully failed to perform other actions assigned to him by his official duties.

Also, the ex-combat commander's actions made it difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to perform defense functions and carry out certain combat tasks due to the insufficient number of personnel.