They emphasize that the bail amount of over 90 million hryvnia ($2 million) raises doubts about the independence of the judiciary

Lawyers from the firm “Barristers,” who are defending Dmytro Ryumshyn, the former commander of the 155th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, shared details about his arrest and the charges brought against him in an interview with the American publication Business Insider.

As the lawyers noted, this article will be sent to the embassies of all G7 countries to draw attention to the injustices in the handling of the case.

In particular, attorney Bohdan Zabara stated that the charges hinge on whether Colonel Dmytro Ryumshyn reported the desertion to the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).

However, the law requires military personnel to report to the DBR only on corruption crimes, not on cases of desertion, he emphasized.

The main points made by the defense attorneys in their interview with Business Insider:

- The charges brought are unfounded and do not comply with the law.

- The bail amount of over 90 million hryvnia ($2 million) is completely disproportionate and raises doubts about the independence of the judiciary.

- The defense attorneys consider Dmytro Ryumshyn’s case to be politically motivated.

Business Insider, for its part, reports that Ryumshin was commanding the 155th Brigade as it prepared to deploy to the front lines but suddenly announced his resignation in early December. Lawyer Bohdan Zabara told Business Insider that the colonel was ordered from above to step down from his post.

He was arrested on January 20 and charged with “systematically covering up” desertions among his troops. The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) reported that Ryumshin received both verbal and written notifications of disciplinary violations but failed to report them to higher authorities or take action based on this information.

“Due to the commander’s actions, law enforcement officials were unable to initiate the legal procedure for locating and returning servicemen to their military units and reserve battalions, and in some cases, to ensure that they served their sentences for the crimes they committed,” the investigators’ statement reads.

Zabara said that the colonel will appeal the bail amount set by the court at 90 million hryvnias.

Zabara also told BI that the prosecutor’s office is bringing charges against the colonel based on whether he reported the desertion to the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), rather than on whether he responded to the fact that his men had gone AWOL.

However, Zabara said that the law requires Ryumshin to report only cases of corruption to the State Bureau of Investigation, not desertion.

“The bail amount is completely unjustified,” Zabara said, calling Ryumshin’s trial a “politically motivated case.”

During the hearing, Ryumshin said that he had reported the desertion to law enforcement agencies.

The 155th Brigade “Anna Kyivska” is currently fighting near Pokrovsk, where Russia is slowly but steadily attempting to capture this key strategic city.

The brigade is equipped with 18 AMX-10 armored vehicles, 18 “Caesar” howitzers, and 128 armored personnel carriers.

Colonel Ryumshin enjoyed relatively high standing during his training in France, when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the troops during exercises in October.

Europe is not yet done with these joint training programs. The European Union has allocated $425 million to train new Ukrainian troops through the end of 2026, including 15,000 by the end of this winter.

But some military officials and analysts in Ukraine believe it was a mistake for Kyiv to create entirely new brigades, such as the 155th, instead of reinforcing older, more experienced units that have already seen combat.

Activist Serhiy Sternenko, who supplies drones to military units through crowdfunding, says his organization is assisting the 155th Brigade due to a shortage of officially provided drones and electronic warfare equipment.

“Why create a new brigade when the existing brigades are critically understaffed, only to then split it up and transfer personnel to the older brigades? What’s the point?” he wrote in early January on his Telegram channel.

As the 155th Brigade prepared to enter combat, its personnel were also frequently transferred to other brigades that were desperately short-staffed, leaving the French-trained brigade to haphazardly redeploy its troops to positions for which they had not been trained.

Serhiy Filimonov, commander of the 108th Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, wrote on January 10 that he was aware of 10 such brigades operating under similar conditions.

He added that the Western training methods provided by NATO forces “often do not correspond to the realities of modern warfare” in Ukraine.

“The realities of modern warfare show that foreign training, if it is not adapted to Ukrainian conditions and not integrated into the units’ practices, is not only ineffective but also dangerous,” he wrote in a commentary published by “Ukrainska Pravda.”

Background. As a reminder, on January 8, General Drapatiy outlined the steps taken to address issues within the 155th “Anna Kyivska” Brigade. He emphasized that most of the shortcomings have already been analyzed and that solutions are currently being implemented.