Ukraine Says Own ‘Careless’ Troops May Be Behind Russian Gains

Ukraine is investigating claims that the carelessness of its units had allowed a Russian incursion into the northeast of the country, it has been reported.

The State Bureau of Investigation has opened an inquiry into how the 125th Brigade and its subordinate units organized their defenses in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing court documents.

Moscow’s troops launched a new offensive on May 10 in which they advanced six miles, reportedly taking settlements in a move designed to stretch Ukrainian forces as they awaited the delivery of new Western weapons.

The court document said that a preliminary investigation had found that the 125th Brigade, 415th Separate Rifle Battalion, the 23rd Mechanized Brigade, the 172nd Separate Rifle, and other units “did not properly organize the defense of positions on the border of Kharkiv Oblast” due to a “careless attitude to military service.”

The document said, according to a translation, that the Russian offensive “led to the loss of positions, military equipment, and personnel of the units,” and that Ukrainian troops had “abandoned” other positions.

It said that 28 people were involved in the criminal offense, including the brigade commander, his deputies, and officials but did not specify what the punishment would be if found guilty. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.

Ukrainian military commander Denys Yaroslavskyi said earlier this month that the Russian breakthrough in Kharkiv was caused by Ukrainian forces’ lack of preparedness. “There was no first line of defense,” Yaroslavskyi told the BBC,”the Russians just walked in….without any mined fields.”

“Either it was an act of negligence or corruption. It wasn’t a failure. It was a betrayal,” he said. Ukrainian lawmakers told Politico that the U.S. ban on using Western weapons at targets in Russia helped Moscow’s troops make progress in the offensive.

The officials from Kyiv reportedly lobbied Washington to be able to use the long-range missile systems such as Army Tactical Missile Systems ATACMS which Ukraine has reportedly used to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea.

However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for an end to this prohibition, telling The Economist, “The time has come for allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions,” which are in place for fear of escalating the conflict.

German lawmaker Anton Hofreiter told the publication Der Spiegel that lifting the restrictions would be permitted under international law, which “allows a (state under attack) to attack military targets in the aggressor’s country.”