CNN —A group of former Ukrainian servicemen, including prisoners of war, have “volunteered” to fight on the front lines for Russia, Moscow’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti has claimed, in a potential violation of international law. The Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing Russian state media, said in late October that Russia had “recruited” 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) from various penal colonies. Coercing POWs to serve in the Russian forces would be a violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been adopted by all nations, according to the International Red Cross. “Russian authorities have likely coerced Ukrainian prisoners of war into joining a ‘volunteer’ formation that will fight in Ukraine, which would constitute an apparent violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War,” the ISW said. Russia and Ukraine remain locked in battle as the war enters a third winter with neither country’s forces establishing the upper hand.

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Persons: ”, –, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, ” Khmelnitsky, “, Volodymyr Zelensky, Valery Zaluzhny Organizations: CNN, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Donetsk People’s, Cross, Geneva Convention Locations: Russia, Moscow’s, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukraine’s, The Washington, Russian, Geneva