Russian prisoner turned recruit captured by Ukraine in his first fight at the front

A Russian man who left prison to join the war in Ukraine was captured almost immediately after reaching the battlefield, according to Ukrainian forces.

The 46th Separate Airmobile Podilian Brigade shared video footage of the detained fighter on its official channel.

The man, identified as a 46-year-old from Chelyabinsk, said he had spent 26 years of his life incarcerated.

From cell to combat

In the video released by the brigade, the detainee explains that he signed a military contract voluntarily, seeking what he described as a second chance.

Ukrainian paratroopers took him into custody during his first combat deployment, bringing an abrupt end to his attempt to exchange prison time for military service.

Recruitment under scrutiny

Ukrainian troops used the case to criticize Russia’s recruitment practices.

“His story is yet another example of how the Russian system throws people with criminal pasts into the war, for whom this mobilization becomes not a path to freedom but another turn in an unsuccessful life,” Ukrainian defenders wrote, according to RBC-Ukraine.

Kyiv has repeatedly alleged that Moscow enlists inmates and deploys them with minimal preparation, placing them in high-risk positions on the front line.

Editorial note

The editorial has chosen not to show the video of the prisoner, even though it has been made public by Ukrainian forces.

According to the Third Geneva Convention, it may constitute as a war crime to publish footage of prisoners of war, as they are to be protected from “exposure to public curiosity”.

According to Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention, this includes social media postings.

In the video, the prisoner gives permission to being recorded and for the footage to be published, but prisoners of war are considered to be under estreme duress, making such agreements difficult to verify as voluntary.

Sources: 46th Separate Airmobile Podilian Brigade Telegram channel; statements from Ukrainian Defense Forces., International Red Cross, Military Times, RBC-Ukraine

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation