Soldiers of Ukraine's 121st Brigade say they had no rotation for nearly four months

Service members from the fire support platoon of the fire support company of the 3rd Battalion of military unit A7049 said they have been at combat positions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast for nearly four months without rotation.

Platoon commander Lt. Anatolii Syshchuk said his unit arrived at the positions in April to replace troops who had previously spent eight months there without rotation. The soldiers were told their deployment would last one month.

According to Syshchuk, the troops have faced problems with supplies of food, drinking water and medicine. Food and water sometimes go undelivered for three to seven days. In one instance, his subordinates went without them for 12 days.

The commander also said some soldiers were in a semiconscious state for several days because of a lack of food and water. Syshchuk appealed to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi to ensure the unit could safely withdraw from its positions.

On Aug. 10, the command of the 121st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade responded to the appeal, saying it continued to take all necessary measures to ensure troops were properly supplied.

“Food, medicine and other essential supplies are delivered by drones to hard-to-reach positions according to a set schedule. Over the course of a month, 27 packages, each weighing about 9 kilograms, were delivered to the unit. However, the situation in this sector remains extremely difficult. Adverse weather conditions, constant enemy activity and Russian electronic warfare systems sometimes prevent supplies from being delivered on time and intact,” the statement said.

The brigade also said its commander was personally in contact with the troops and was aware of the situation. It said the information presented in the video appeal did not reflect all the circumstances.

The brigade command said it was doing everything possible to rotate the unit as soon as possible, once it could be done without endangering the lives and health of personnel.

On Aug. 12, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces said the unit was carrying out combat missions on a difficult and dynamic section of the front.

“Over the past 30 days, about 240 kilograms of food supplies have been delivered to the positions of troops from the 121st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. A set of measures is currently underway to rotate the unit as soon as possible,” the command said.

The Southern Defense Forces said protecting the lives and health of service members remained the top priority.

They added that the rotation would take place as soon as the security situation allowed, to avoid exposing personnel to critical risks during the regrouping.

On April 30, then-Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi signed an order requiring the rotation of service members performing missions on the front line. Under the order, commanders must ensure that troops remain at positions for no more than two months, followed by a mandatory rotation to be carried out within one month.

On June 24, the Office of the Military Ombudsman said Syrskyi's order requiring frontline troops to be rotated every 60 days was impossible to implement in most cases. The office said it reached that conclusion after analyzing complaints from service members.