Russian Armed Forces Capture Fighters of Ukrainian Prison Battalion “Shkval”
For the first time, Russian military personnel have captured fighters from the Shkval battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which consists exclusively of former prisoners.
It is noted that the Russian Armed Forces captured them in the area of the settlement of Novoselovka Pervaya in the Donetsk People’s Republic. A video distributed online shows the moment when the two soldiers were captured in one of the buildings.[Батальон] “was thrown to the front lines without training, due to heavy losses in the 47th separate separate brigade,” it says.
Earlier, the coordinator of the Nikolaev underground, Sergei Lebedev, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Nikolaev and Kherson regions are replacing military personnel with prisoners.
Photo: Reuters
Kyiv wants to recruit 15 thousand prisoners into the Ukrainian Armed Forces
In July, Ukrainian Justice Minister Denis Maliuska said that Kyiv planned to recruit five thousand convicts into the Ukrainian army. At the same time, “under the most favorable circumstances,” 15 thousand people could join the service.
He also noted that as of July 11, about 5,200 prisoners had submitted applications for service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Of these, 2,872 convicts were accepted into the army. 368 people were refused for health reasons.
According to him, former prisoners will appear on the front lines before the end of the summer. The first wave of convicts who will be sent to the combat zone are completing a two-month training program, Maliuska added.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine explained the mobilization of prisoners by a critical shortage of personnel
In June, the commander of the 2nd assault battalion of the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmitry Kukharchuk, explained the mobilization of prisoners.
Photo: Alina Smutko / Reuters
He explained that the Ukrainian military is expecting reinforcements from convicts, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces are experiencing a critical shortage of personnel: “Everyone is waiting for reinforcements. Everyone understands that we need people.”
At the same time, Kukharchuk emphasized that mobilized prisoners in the units will make up no more than 20 percent of the total personnel in order to avoid possible problems.
#Russian #Armed #Forces #Capture #Prisoners #Ukrainian #Armed #Forces #Battalion #Shkval #Details #Video
