Russia continues to form combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war. On August 6, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Volunteer Corps announced the creation of the first Ukrainian Volunteer Spetsnaz Brigade, which includes Ukrainian prisoners of war and former Ukrainian servicemen who allegedly defected to Russia.
This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Russian military formed the brigade by merging several irregular so-called volunteer units. These include the Maxim Krivonos and Alexei Berest battalions, as well as the Alexander Matrosov, Martyn Pushkar and Slobodskoy detachments.
According to reports, these units either partly consist of Ukrainian prisoners of war or of Ukrainian servicemen who are claimed to have defected to Russia.
“At least one Russian military blogger openly discussed the fact that this new brigade consists of Ukrainian prisoners of war — a noteworthy statement given that the use of prisoners of war in combat is a war crime,” the ISW report says.
ISW first recorded reports of Russia forming combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war in November 2022. The most recent such example was the Bogdan Khmelnitsky battalion made up of Ukrainian prisoners of war, which in December 2023 operated as part of the Kaskad formation of the Interior Ministry of the so-called “DNR” in western Donetsk Oblast.
Russia’s use of Ukrainian prisoners of war in combat formations likely violates the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war. It prohibits the use of prisoners in military activities on the side of the state that captured them, as well as sending or detaining them in areas where they may come under fire in a combat zone.
“Russia’s use of Ukrainian prisoners of war in combat formations is likely a violation of the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war, which prohibits the use of prisoners of war in military activities on the side of the state that captured them and stipulates that “no prisoner of war may at any time be sent to or detained in areas where he may be exposed to fire in the combat zone”,” ISW notes.
