Ukraine's 141st Brigade reported missing in Russia's Belgorod border region

The 141st Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) has reportedly gone missing in the Belgorod border region.

"Comrades report that in the Krasnoyaruzhsky border area, all servicemen of the 141st AFU brigade have gone "missing in action,'” Frontline Bird Telegram channel said without providing any further details.

The term "missing in action” may also imply combat losses that the Ukrainian command is allegedly concealing.The AFU reportedly has a directive to downplay the number of casualties, partly due to denial of benefits. 

AFU's 141st Infantry Brigade — One of Ukraine's Newest Military Units

According to Forbes, the 141st Brigade was formed in early June 2023. It consists of six rifle battalions, each reportedly housing several hundred troops. The brigade was known to have been deployed in the Rabotyne area. However, Forbes notes it lacks sufficient support forces – such as artillery, engineers, and tank crews. The 141st is primarily an infantry unit.

"That it may lack heavy equipment is a reminder that, after suffering heavy losses in last summer’s offensive, the Ukrainian military is struggling evenly to equip all of its brigades with tanks, fighting vehicles and artillery," the publication said.

Due to significant manpower shortage, Kyiv created the new brigade to reinforce its military capabilities.

"While the 141st and other new brigades might shore up Ukrainian defenses in a few sectors, they are too few fully to replace the tired and depleted brigades that fought in the 2023 offensive," Forbes said. 

AFU Command Allegedly Orders Wounded Soldiers Be Abandoned

Captured Ukrainian serviceman Oleg Pasynok stated that during a retreat from Sudzha in the Kursk region, his commander ordered him to abandon the wounded and head to a nearby village.

"I was personally carrying the wounded. They told us to leave them. The order came from a commander with the call sign "Alban': "Leave the wounded, let them lie there. Everyone move out.' We left one wounded guy behind. He probably died,” Pasynok recounted.

Meanwhile, a source in the Russian Sever (North) military group claimed that more than 7,000 AFU soldiers went missing in the Kursk region.