Russia is forming combat units from Ukrainian prisoners of war, according to the ISW
Russia continues to form combat units using Ukrainian prisoners of war, which may constitute a direct violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
On August 6, the Volunteer Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the formation of the first Ukrainian volunteer brigade, “Spetsnaz.”
According to the Russian side, the brigade consists of Ukrainian prisoners of war and former Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen who allegedly defected to Russia.
The ISW noted that the new unit was created by merging several irregular, so-called volunteer units.
“The Russian military formed this brigade by merging several irregular so-called volunteer units, including the battalions named after Maksym Kryvonos and Oleksiy Berest, as well as the detachments named after Oleksandr Matrosov, Martin Pushkar, and Slobodsky (all of which reportedly consist in part of Ukrainian prisoners of war or Ukrainian soldiers who have reportedly defected to the Russian side),” the analysts’ report states.
One Russian military blogger also claimed that the new brigade consists of Ukrainian prisoners of war. The ISW emphasized that this information warrants attention, as the use of prisoners of war in combat operations may constitute a war crime.
The ISW noted that reports of Russian forces forming combat units using Ukrainian prisoners of war were first documented as early as November 2022.
Analysts cited the Russian “Bohdan Khmelnytsky” battalion, which included Ukrainian prisoners of war, as the most recent example. In December 2023, it operated as part of the “Kaskad” unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the so-called “DPR” in western Donetsk Oblast.
The ISW noted that the use of prisoners of war in combat operations on the side of the state that captured them is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
“Russia’s use of Ukrainian prisoners of war in combat units likely constitutes a violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, which prohibits the use of prisoners of war in military operations on the side of the force that captured them, and stipulates that ‘under no circumstances may a prisoner of war be sent or held in areas where he may be exposed to fire in a combat zone,’ nor may they be “employed in work of a hazardous or dangerous nature,” the analysts emphasized.
Thus, the use of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian combat units may constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
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