The Ukrainian Defense Forces have stopped forming new brigades.

Colonel Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the We Are Ukraine media outlet, citing the Chief of Staff’s decision.

He emphasized that the main efforts are now focused on manning the existing units.

“In addition, those brigades that have already been formed or are in the final stages of formation will continue to be trained, again, considering the issues we had on previous occasions,” Palisa said.

Last month, journalist Yuriy Butusov, citing his own sources, reported that at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s staff, it was decided to redirect mobilization resources to support the existing combat brigades of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Butusov explained that this decision was made after highlighting the critical problems of the newly created brigades in the example of the 155th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, formed in May 2024.

According to him, such units cannot replace the so-called old brigades in certain areas of the frontline on their own within the framework of rotations due to the inexperience of commanders, poor training of personnel, and low levels of equipment and reconnaissance drones.

Therefore, the decision should resolve the long-standing low-priority problem for old brigades regarding replenishment, which has led to a steady decline in their combat readiness.

Formation of new brigades

With the beginning of Russia’s large-scale aggression, the Armed Forces of Ukraine mobilized personnel and deployed new military units.

First, these are the brigades of the Reserve Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were staffed in peacetime, and the personnel of these units was the minimum necessary for functioning. At the same time, the brigades of the Territorial Defense Forces were deployed, totaling more than 20 military units.

During the fighting, this number of military units was insufficient to fulfill the assigned tasks. Therefore, it was decided to form additional combat brigades in several waves.

Over time, the mobilization volume ceased to meet the needs of manning existing military units and forming new ones. This has been repeatedly emphasized by both the military and society. As a result, it was decided to prioritize the manning and training of existing units over forming new ones.