Russians form combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war - ISW

Russia continues to form combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war, presenting them as volunteers who have defected to the Kremlin. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported this on 6 August. Experts explicitly call the formation of such detachments a violation of the Geneva Conventions. According to analysts, the newly formed brigade includes former prisoners of war and Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemembers whom Moscow is portraying as defectors.

This refers to a report by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), published Thursday evening, 6 August. According to analysts, the so-called volunteer corps of the Russian Defense Ministry announced the creation of the "first Ukrainian volunteer special forces brigade."

The so-called volunteer corps of the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces had formed the "first Ukrainian volunteer special forces brigade," consisting of Ukrainian prisoners of war and former Ukrainian servicemembers who allegedly switched to Russia's side.

This brigade was formed by merging several irregular so-called volunteer units, including the Maxim Kryvonos and Oleksiy Berest battalions, the Oleksandr Matrosov, Martyn Pushkar, and Slobidsky detachments.

ISW recalled that it first documented Russian forces forming combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war in November 2022. The most recent Russian battalion "Bohdan Khmelnytsky" composed of prisoners operated as part of the "Kaskad" formation of the so-called Ministry of Internal Affairs of the "DPR" in western Donetsk region in December 2023.

International humanitarian law violated

Using Ukrainian prisoners of war in combat formations violates the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. It prohibits involving prisoners of war in the military activities of the capturing power and states that no prisoner of war may at any time be sent to or detained in areas where they may be exposed to the dangers of combat, nor shall they be employed on labor that is harmful or dangerous.

The formation of such detachments is documented amid reports of widespread torture of Ukrainian captives in Russian custody. The practice of forcibly recruiting prisoners to fight against their own armed forces contradicts the fundamental protections that international law affords prisoners of war, regardless of the circumstances of their capture.

Earlier, Ukrainian intelligence published information about war criminals from Antratsyt implicated in abductions, torture, and rape of civilians and prisoners of war in occupied territory. These data confirm the systemic nature of brutal treatment of Ukrainians in Russian captivity.