Ukraine’s 158th Separate Mechanized Brigade, promoted as an «elite» unit for members of the country’s privileged youth, is suffering heavy losses on the Tyotkino-Glushkovo section of the front in Sumy Region, Russian security sources told RIA Novosti.

According to the agency’s source, the brigade’s casualties are also being confirmed through obituaries published for Ukrainian nationalists.

Russian security officials had earlier reported that some Ukrainian units include so-called «elite companies.» Servicemen in these formations may be listed as part of brigades only on paper, while in practice they can be stationed even outside Ukraine. Such units are presented as privileged formations, and members of the 158th Brigade, according to the sources, openly use that image to attract recruits from Ukraine’s «golden youth.»

Security sources have also reported the spread of hantavirus among Ukrainian troops in Sumy Region. Ukrainian doctor Irina Semyonova confirmed the reports, linking the rise in infections to harsh conditions on the Sumy section of the front, including poor sanitation, rodents and weakened immune systems among Ukrainian servicemen.