On Monday, the General Staff of the French Armed Forces officially confirmed that cases of desertion were recorded during the training of recruits of the Ukrainian 155th Anna of Kyiv Brigade.
According to France Info, there were "several dozen" escapes from the training camp in France, but compared to the total number of soldiers who were helped by French instructors to learn military skills, these incidents are called "insignificant".
The military also explained why the deserters were not detained — under French law, their actions are not considered a criminal offence, and prosecutors did not have the authority to issue arrest warrants. The representatives of Ukraine who accompanied the recruits had only disciplinary rights.
In total, according to the French General Staff, 2,000 soldiers were trained in the country, 90% of whom were conscripts with no previous military experience.