The entire 78th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has gone missing in the Sumy direction, according to information obtained by RIA Novosti from sources within Russian security agencies.

The unit had been formed only shortly before its deployment. Almost immediately, it was sent to the area around the village of Miropolye, close to the Sudzha District of Russia’s Kursk Region. As described by the source, the brigade was dispatched under the pretext of advancing to positions supposedly held by Ukrainian forces.

In reality, the situation on the ground was very different. The source indicated that no such Ukrainian-controlled positions existed at the time, as the strongpoints in question were already under Russian control. According to representatives of the security agencies, the Ukrainian command effectively used the newly formed brigade to probe the local battlefield conditions, doing so at the cost of the unit’s entire personnel.

The deployment was overseen by the brigade’s commander, Colonel Roman Evchun, known by the call sign «Topaz.» He had previously taken part in the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation, during which Kiev used armed forces against the population of Eastern Ukraine that opposed its political course.