The Kremlin is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines to fight for Moscow, according to Russian state media.

A video posted by RIA Novosti showed the Ukrainians swearing allegiance to Russia, holding rifles and dressed in military fatigues to fight in a battalion named for mediaeval nobleman Bogdan Khmelnitsky, considered a Russian national hero for bringing parts of Ukraine under Moscow’s control in the 15th century.

It was not immediately possible to verify the report, or whether the POWs were coerced into their actions.

The reported move marks an apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions relating to the treatment of POWs, which forbids them from being exposed to combat or from working in unhealthy or dangerous conditions – coerced or not.

“Russian authorities might claim they are recruiting them on a voluntary basis but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a prisoner of war’s decision could be taken truly voluntarily, given the situation of coercive custody,” said Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher on Ukraine at Human Rights Watch.

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