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submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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.

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[-] morgunkorn@discuss.tchncs.de 146 points 9 months ago

Pulling the same shjt the Nazis did to people of Alsace (France), my grandfather had to fight on the side of Germany in 1940. Luckily he defected and live to tell the tale (making my own existence a reality) 🫡

[-] Maalus@lemmy.world 46 points 9 months ago

My grandpa was forcibly recruited in Poland and defected later to fight against nazis. The funny shit though is - my grandma was German. So dad applied for German citizenship for the entire family. We all got it, except for him (the person who had the most emotional connection to the country). Reason being? His dad betrayed the German state.

My dad got denied a citizenship cause his dad betrayed Hitler lol

[-] Red_October@lemmy.world 107 points 9 months ago

But guys, they swore an oath of loyalty to Russia, the plan is foolproof.

[-] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

Curse their sudden, but inevitable, betrayal!

[-] Szymon@lemmy.ca 56 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Best of luck returning to their home and being repatriated with the mental health support they'll need from this experience. Praying for the heros to be able to identify and have an opportunity to rescue them.

Slava Ukrainia

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 35 points 9 months ago

What's going to stop them from just surrendering to whoever they're fighting?

[-] jonne@infosec.pub 35 points 9 months ago

Same thing they do to Russian troops, they'll shoot anyone that tries.

[-] interceder270@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Curious how that will work out in an actual combat scenario.

Is there just a direct line of sight to would-be defectors at all times? Seems like in the heat of battle, it would be pretty difficult for Russians to fight their own soldiers as well as Ukraine's.

[-] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

That's the power of organizational knowledge

[-] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

Well, there is a chance they'll miss as there are hundreds of russians caught by the Ukrainians. Lets hope they liberate their country men.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Best case, the POWs and Ukrainian Forces both have a clear understanding of surrender procedurals.

[-] Beetschnapps@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago

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…

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

They will most likely be used to attract javelin missiles in barely working vehicles while flanked by tanks or they will find anti infantry mines the hard way. There is no escape except death.

[-] lmaydev@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

Most likely being executed by higher ups.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago

They could also kill those higher-ups first. I'm not sure why the Russians think giving them guns will work out well for them.

[-] mtdyson_01@lemmynsfw.com 11 points 9 months ago

A Russian battalion has 900 men. The article stated that there were only about 70 POW's. Basically they are surrounded by Russian soldiers so even with weapons they would only be able to take out a few people around them before being killed themselves.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

If they're being sent to die anyway, why not take out people around them?

[-] lmaydev@lemmy.world 21 points 9 months ago

It's easy to say that when you aren't the one dying

[-] mtdyson_01@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 9 months ago

Because escaping and living is still the best option.

[-] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

They might convince their squad mates to defect and surrender.

[-] mtdyson_01@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 9 months ago

Most likely scenario.

[-] dan1101@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

The Russians don't always give their soldiers guns.

[-] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Everybody sleeps, everybody bleeds.

[-] snooggums@kbin.social 3 points 9 months ago

In the real world it is a lot harder for people being threatened by violence to risk their lives for a positive group outcome than it seems to those of us sitting in our chairs in no direct danger.

Most people don't want to be the one who dies trying for the positive group outcome.

[-] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago
[-] theodewere@kbin.social 6 points 9 months ago

Russia is a nation of trolls

[-] cabron_offsets@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

What could possibly go wrong?

[-] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

Pretty sure we are well down that road.

[-] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Business Insider

Did ye aye

[-] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 2 points 9 months ago

business insider kens fit like

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 2 points 9 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


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.

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.

Around Avdiivka on the border of occupied Donetsk, Russia has launched a renewed offensive that's resulted in significant Russian casualties, as well as severe vehicle losses.

The battalion of POWs has previously been called a "volunteer" group, and its commander said their contracts were "concluded on general terms," RIA Novosti reported.


The original article contains 490 words, the summary contains 183 words. Saved 63%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2023
219 points (99.1% liked)

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