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Military operation in Ukraine

About 70 former Ukrainian troops apply for Russian citizenship to join volunteer battalion

In September 2022, several dozen Ukrainian prisoners of war asked the DPR leadership to enroll them into the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volunteer battalion

© AP Photo/LIBKOS

DONETSK, March 1. /TASS/. About 70 former Ukrainian troops have applied for Russian citizenship in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) to join the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volunteer battalion, a DPR law enforcement official told TASS on Wednesday.

"The first 67 people have applied for Russian passports, they want to join the battalion that is currently being formed," he said, adding that the citizenship process for those wishing to fight on Russia’s side would be phased.

In September 2022, several dozen Ukrainian prisoners of war asked the DPR leadership to enroll them into the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volunteer battalion. In late November, a DPR law enforcement official told TASS that a battalion of former Ukrainian POWs was being formed. It was reported that about 200 Ukrainian servicemen were ready to join the battalion. Acting DPR head Denis Pushilin said on February 27 that some of the Ukrainian POWs kept in the region were beginning to realize their guilt and believed they must make up for it by siding with Russia.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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