Occupiers Turn POWs into ‘Ukrainian Battalions’ to Stage an Illusion of Civil War

Russian occupiers are using Ukrainian collaborators and prisoners of war to stage a “civil war” in Pokrovsk. According to the analytical department of the Right Cause public interest group, these units have been deployed to create the illusion of internal conflict and sow confusion among the local population.

This concerns the so-called “squads” named after Alexander Matrosov and Martyn Pushkar. Video evidence has already been handed over to special services to identify the traitors.

Notably, the occupiers are attempting to present this as part of a “civil war” — suggesting that Ukrainians are fighting Ukrainians.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the occupiers have created four units under the control of the General Staff of the Russian Federation: the Bogdan Khmelnytsky Battalion, the Maksym Kryvonos Battalion, the Martin Pushkar Detachment, and the Alexander Matrosov Detachment. These units are composed of captured Ukrainian soldiers.

According to Russian State Duma deputy Vodolatsky, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who allegedly refused to exchange and return home are being assigned to a “Ukrainian battalion under Russian command.”

“Today, there are prisoners of war who refuse to return home and wish to remain here. Some sign contracts, after verification, with units formed from Ukrainian army soldiers under Russian command,” he said.

As a reminder, on September 24, 2022, the Russian propaganda outlet TASS reported that Ukrainian prisoners of war held in a camp in Olenivka “requested” permission from the authorities of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic to fight in the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Volunteer Cossack Battalion.

By October 2023, the Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti reported that the first battalion of former Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers — the Bohdan Khmelnytsky “volunteer battalion” — had joined the Russian operational-combat tactical formation “Cascade.” This battalion was formed in the territory of the so-called DPR from Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russian media at the time reported that approximately 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war had volunteered for the battalion. After completing combat coordination, the unit was planned to be redeployed to the front lines.

Incidentally, it is no coincidence that this formation was incorporated into the “Cascade” battalion, led by another traitor to Ukraine, SBU Colonel Khodakovsky.

It is worth noting that the emergence of information about this unit on October 27, 2023, was also not accidental. The day before, media reports had surfaced claiming that a battalion of Russian citizens had been formed within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The propagandists’ error was significant: while spreading information about the “battalion” undergoing combat training, they revealed that the soldiers had not actually taken the oath. At that time, the unit existed only on paper or in the occupiers’ imagination.

A standard battalion comprises at least 800–1,000 men. Yet, the occupiers cited a figure of just 70 men per year, referring to the number of prisoners who agreed to join this unit.

This demonstrates that even under conditions of physical and moral pressure, limited information, and the torture endured by Ukrainian prisoners of war, the Russians were unable to form a real military unit for a long time. The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has not confirmed the use of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Battalion, formed from Ukrainian prisoners of war in the so-called DPR, by Russian forces on the front lines.

“It’s been over a year since information emerged about the creation of the so-called ‘Bohdan Khmelnytsky’ battalion, which was essentially just a special forces unit. There have been no confirmed combat deployments of this unit yet,” GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov told Ukrinform in November 2024.

Russian propaganda uses units made up of Ukrainian prisoners of war, controlled by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, to reinforce narratives about “Ukrainian fascism,” the “illegitimate Kyiv regime,” and a “civil war” in Ukraine. They also attempt to create the impression of mass collaboration and Ukrainians’ willingness to fight alongside the occupiers against their own state.

However, cases of collaboration among Ukrainian prisoners are isolated and not widespread.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, they have verified information about 62 Ukrainian prisoners of war who signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to fight in these units against Ukraine. Among them, there is even one soldier captured from the “Maxim Kryvonos” battalion.

It should be noted that the use of Ukrainian prisoners of war in these “battalions” constitutes a violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War. The Convention forbids compelling prisoners of war to take part in military operations on behalf of the captor, and bans placing or keeping them in locations where they could be exposed to combat.

Currently, the occupying forces hold Ukrainian prisoners in over 300 detention camps, denying access to international organizations and human rights monitors. These camps are located in Russia, Belarus, and the occupied territories of Ukraine.

More than 90% of Ukrainian soldiers who have returned from captivity report having been tortured. They were also deprived of adequate sleep and food.

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