Russia said a battalion of Ukrainian prisoners of war, or POWs, would soon be sent to the front lines to fight against their own country, state media reported.
State media said troops had taken an oath of allegiance, but the move could still be a violation of international laws concerning warfare. It also raises questions about the need to use POWs, in particular about the state and quality of Russia’s forces as they suffer a high number of casualties on the battlefield.
On November 7, the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti said Ukrainian POWs in the “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” battalion swore an oath of allegiance to Russia and would soon deploy into battle. The outlet had said in late October that Russian authorities were planning to send the group — described as a battalion including about 70 prisoners from various penal colonies — to the front lines and that they were conducting relevant training in preparation.
A Russian battalion has 900 men. The article stated that there were only about 70 POW’s. Basically they are surrounded by Russian soldiers so even with weapons they would only be able to take out a few people around them before being killed themselves.
If they’re being sent to die anyway, why not take out people around them?
It’s easy to say that when you aren’t the one dying
Because escaping and living is still the best option.
They might convince their squad mates to defect and surrender.
Most likely scenario.