July 23, 2026
photo: YouTube
An audit of military units has begun in Ukraine, according to the results of which some of the worst brigades may be disbanded – the withdrawn personnel, equipment and means are proposed to be transferred to combat-ready units to strengthen them
This was announced by the head of the “Return Alive” foundation and co-founder of the Militarny publication Taras Chmut during a stream .
According to Chmut, the foundation once proposed to conduct an audit of brigades with the prospect of disbanding 30% of the worst ones — and this process has already begun. For the evaluation, a digital system was created with approximately 160 criteria — among them, personnel losses, E-points, the number of lost and regained territories, irretrievable and sanitary losses. During the inspections, units with a critically low level of support were identified — in particular, there are brigades where the entire unit has only two drone crews.
“When we put it all into the dataset and looked at it, well, there’s a bottom there. And something needs to be done with this bottom,” Chmut noted, adding that there are possible nuances such as incomplete data entry, but at least 20% of the weakest units can be disbanded with certainty.
The head of the foundation emphasized that personnel and equipment from such units should be directed to strengthening experienced brigades that have been holding the front for a long time and are experiencing a lack of resources – according to him, weak units often lack normal command personnel, although there is potential that should be “poured” into stronger units with a preserved “skeleton”, following the example of the Airborne Assault Forces.
The problem of crew staffing: what was discussed earlier
Recall, back in December 2025, Chmut advocated a transition from operational-tactical groups to permanent large-scale formations such as divisions and army corps, emphasizing the need for a clear organizational structure.
Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kashchenko also spoke about the accumulated systemic problems in the command of brigades and battalions: according to him, even after the change of army leadership , quick results should not be expected – management problems accumulated over the years cannot be eliminated in a short time, and the new command will need at least half a year for reform.