Ukrainian-Born POWs Describe Why They Fought for Russia, With 50,000 Allegedly Forced Into Service
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 20
Ukrainian-Born POWs Describe Why They Fought for Russia, With 50,000 Allegedly Forced Into Service
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 20
Summary
Several Ukrainian-born prisoners held in western Ukraine said they joined Russia’s war voluntarily, citing Russian identity, defense of their home region, resentment from the 2014 fighting, money or escape from long prison terms.
Men from occupied Donbas described growing up under Russian control and propaganda, with one saying he saw Putin as “my President,” while another said he never received his 400,000-rouble sign-up bonus.
One prisoner from Donetsk said he had been forced to fight; a tally based on intelligence says more than 50,000 Ukrainians in occupied areas have been conscripted against their will, with some estimates far higher.
Ukraine prosecutes captured citizens for treason but keeps them in POW camps with Russian soldiers, where they make coffins and Christmas decorations and earn wages for extra food and cigarettes.
Kyiv’s main interest is using the captives in exchanges, but prisoners from Donbas say Russia gives them low priority, underscoring how occupation, identity and manpower strains are complicating the war.
Are these Ukrainian-born prisoners victims of systemic psychological manipulation, or rational actors choosing survival in a heavily occupied territory?
Will Russia's refusal to exchange captured Donbas fighters eventually trigger a fierce backlash among the populations they claim to be liberating?
How can a nation legally and morally reconcile with citizens who were militarized by enemy propaganda to fight against their own homeland?