Russia said a battalion of Ukrainian prisoners of war, or POWs, would soon be sent to the front lines to fight against their own country, state media reported.
State media said troops had taken an oath of allegiance, but the move could still be a violation of international laws concerning warfare. It also raises questions about the need to use POWs, in particular about the state and quality of Russia’s forces as they suffer a high number of casualties on the battlefield.
On November 7, the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti said Ukrainian POWs in the “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” battalion swore an oath of allegiance to Russia and would soon deploy into battle. The outlet had said in late October that Russian authorities were planning to send the group — described as a battalion including about 70 prisoners from various penal colonies — to the front lines and that they were conducting relevant training in preparation.
The fact that they won’t be “fighting” fighting…
More likely, they’ll be told to blindly run towards hidden Ukrainian positions to help expose them. All while being shot at by russians behind them. It’s disgusting, the thought of being forced into friendly fire for tactical gain…
A weird symmetry with the tales about russian squads that are singularly tasked with shooting any russian that retreats…