A group of former Ukrainian soldiers, including prisoners of war, “volunteered” to fight on the front lines for Russia, Moscow’s state news agency RIA Novosti said, reporting a potential violation of international law, CNN reports.
This week, the agency released a video showing several dozen men it said were Ukrainians wearing military uniforms and holding rifles as they swore an oath to Russia at a ceremony. According to News.ro, the full size of the block is unknown.
According to RIA Novosti, the men are “volunteers”. CNN was unable to independently verify whether they joined the unit voluntarily or under duress. Ukraine did not comment on this information.
The RIA states that the men are members of, as it is called, “the first battalion of former servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the volunteer battalion named after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.” Khmelnytskyi was a commander of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the 17th century.
In October, the battalion became part of the Russian operational-tactical combat unit, the press agency reports.
In February, RIA reported that the battalion was formed “from Ukrainian military prisoners of war” in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in the Donetsk region, located in eastern Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, citing Russian state media, said in late October that Russia had “recruited” 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war from various colonies.
According to the International Red Cross, forcing prisoners of war to serve in the Russian army would be a violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which were accepted by all countries.
“The Russian authorities may have forced Ukrainian prisoners of war to join ‘volunteer’ formations that will fight in Ukraine, which is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War,” the ISW said.
Dissident Russian soldiers who joined Ukraine have raided Russian territory, although their numbers are relatively small.
The Russian-Ukrainian war is entering its third winter, with neither side having the upper hand, CNN comments.
Source: Hot News
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