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.
Untrained? They’re prisoners of war, though… As in, they were formerly Ukrainian soldiers. What’s to stop those PoWs from just immediately turning on this supposed “death squad” within their ranks at the first opportunity, as I’m guessing they would greatly outnumber their wardens.
Regardless, for all we know, these PoWs really could have turned coat. Guess time will tell.
Bold of you to assume prisoners of war always means soldiers and not any men who gave the slightest resistance to Russian occupation.