Bogdan Khmelnitsky Battalion

Bogdan Khmelnitsky Battalion
Батальон Богдана Хмельницкого
Unit insignia
Founded	February 2023
Allegiance	Russia
Type	Militia
Size	Unknown
Engagements	Russian Invasion of Ukraine 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
Commanders
Current commander	Andrii Tyshchenko

The Bogdan Khmelnitsky Battalion (Russian: Батальон Богдана Хмельницкого), or Bohdan Khmelnytsky Battalion is a Russian "volunteer battalion" formed in February 2023, allegedly from Ukrainian POWs that have defected to the Russian Army. The battalion is named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a Ruthenian nobleman and Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host, which was under the suzerainty of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time of his rule.

History

The battalion was created in February 2023 in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast. The formation's alleged commander, Andrii Tyshchenko, told RIA Novosti, that they recruited around 70 Ukrainian POWs in February alone. Some sources state that up to 200 Ukrainian POWs have joined. Tyshchenko was a former Ukrainian tank commander before defecting to Russia. RIA Novosti calls the battalion "volunteer," claiming that its members joined the formation "voluntarily, having accepted Russian citizenship if they joined the battalion."

Russian sources claimed that the Russian command would treat members of the battalion in the same way as Russian soldiers and that they would receive the same salaries and benefits.

Use of POWs

Coercion of POWs into combat would violate the Article 23 of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, which says that "no prisoner of war may at any time be sent to or detained in areas where he may be exposed to the fire of the combat zone."

Acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin claimed on February 27 that some of the Ukrainian POWs kept in the region were beginning to quote: "realize their guilt and believed they must make up for it by siding with Russia". It was reported that after taking an oath, the battalion was deployed to an unspecified part of the frontline.

Vladislav Kovalenko, one of the soldiers of the battalion, told Ria Novosti: "We already gave an oath once to the Ukrainian nation, but we have not betrayed them. The Ukrainian nation is now a hostage of the criminal regime in Kyiv." However, Human Rights Watch said that it was "hard to imagine" that the men of the battalion were taking part of their own free will.