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.

  • interceder270@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    in the heat of battle, it would be pretty difficult for Russians to fight their own soldiers as well as Ukraine’s.

      • interceder270@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, I guess more targets wouldn’t make things difficult in the heat of battle.

        Especially if these targets are shooting back at you.

        • snooggums@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          You have no idea how the modern battlefield works. It is nothing like call of duty with a vast battlefield with a plethora of targets.

          It is a hectic blend of small engagements mainly won through surprise and tactics and having a few more targets that you know the location of compared to the overwhelming number of possible surprises isn’t that big of a change.