One in seven Russian army prisoners of war was forcibly mobilised in the occupied territories

Up to 15% of prisoners of war who fought in the Russian army are forcibly mobilised Ukrainians from temporarily occupied territories. These are men who were given a choice: imprisonment or service in the Russian army.

This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, according to an article by Slidstvo.Info entitled «I am a traitor, it turns out»: how Russia forces Ukrainian men from the occupied territories to fight against Ukraine.

The recruitment of Ukrainians into the Russian army in the temporarily occupied territories has been ongoing since 2014. After the full-scale invasion, this process only intensified. Men are forced to obtain Russian documents. They are registered for military service and pressured to sign contracts under threat of imprisonment.

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The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports that a significant proportion of Russian army prisoners are forcibly mobilised Ukrainians from the temporarily occupied territories.

«About 14-15% of all prisoners are those who were mobilised by the Russians in the temporarily occupied territories,» said Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the headquarters.

According to him, many of these people were under psychological pressure. They operated under severe restrictions. Therefore, signing the contract may have seemed like their own decision, although in fact the choice was forced.

The headquarters also emphasises that some of these prisoners are asking why they were not exchanged earlier. At the same time, the Ukrainian side is ready for exchanges. However, Russia is in no hurry to take these people away.

According to headquarters representative Petro Yatsenko, there have already been cases of such mobilised persons being taken prisoner again:

«There are cases when Ukrainians who were in our captivity from the temporarily occupied territories are captured again. There are definitely two such cases. This means that the Russians are again using our fellow citizens as 'cannon fodder'. And you have to be very lucky to be captured a second time.»

We would like to remind you that on 5 March, during the regular exchange of prisoners, soldiers from the Mykolaiv Marine Corps returned to Ukraine.