# Ukrainian POWs and defectors recruited into Russian battalion to fight Kyiv's forces

https://mins.news/en/item/95032

- DW, 2026-10-11 06:38 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.dw.com/en/ukrainian-prisoners-of-war-and-defectors-have-been-gathered-into-a-russian-battalion-to-face-ukrainian-forces-why-and-how/a-79629555?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

> Russia has announced a battalion of Ukrainian “volunteers,” but veterans and former POWs give sharply different accounts. Pavlo Oliynyk says he joined the Maksym Kryvonis battalion after torture in captivity, hoping to use the opportunity to escape to Ukrainian-controlled territory. The article says the unit comprises captured Ukrainian servicemen and raises doubts about whether recruitment was voluntary.

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