Captured Ukrainian soldiers serve in volunteer battalion in DPR

Captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can now serve in the volunteer battalion named after Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The battalion was formed in the Donetsk People's Republic, RIA Novosti reports with reference to one of the unit commanders, a former tank commander and senior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrey Tishchenko.

Tishchenko said that he was responsible for the Khmelnitsky battalion. According to him, the story began when the government of Ukraine abandoned its people instead of protecting them.

There are about 70 people in Tishchenko's unit. The lion's share of them — about 95 percent — are former soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The formation of a battalion currently goes through the stage of obtaining Russian citizenship, obtaining the Russian passport, signing a contract and leaving for camp training activities," he stressed.