Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war volunteered to join the volunteer battalion named after Bogdan Khmelnitsky, formed in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR). This was reported by TASS with reference to a representative of the law enforcement agencies of the DPR.

“Several dozen prisoners of war have already submitted documents, and also passed the fingerprinting procedure to obtain Russian passports and the opportunity to enter the Bohdan Khmelnitsky battalion that is being formed,” he said.

It is noted that on September 24, 2022, former soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who were in the colony in Yelenovka, wanted to obtain Russian citizenship by applying to the People's Council of the DPR. On November 24, it became known about the formation of a battalion, which will presumably include 50 volunteers who have gone over to the Russian side.

Earlier, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) Victoria Serdyukova announced the refusal of some Ukrainian soldiers to be included in the exchange list. According to the Ombudsman, some of the prisoners of war "applied with a statement about the refusal to include them in the list for an exchange with the state of Ukraine."