The "DPR" created a volunteer battalion, formed from Ukrainian servicemen who were taken prisoner. Thisis reported by RIA Novosti with reference to Andrei Tishchenko, who is called one of the commanders of this unit. The battalion is named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
It is reported about Tishchenko that he is a senior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a former tank commander. According to him, there are now about 70 people in the battalion he commands, most of them are former Ukrainian military with combat experience. Tishchenko also said that now the Ukrainians, who wished to join the Khmelnytsky battalion, are in the process of obtaining Russian citizenship and signing a contract with the Russian Armed Forces.
“This story began at a time when the Ukrainian government did not need its people, and against the backdrop of all this, when the Ukrainian government had to protect its people, it simply abandoned them. And, looking at all this, there was an opportunity – both for me and for my comrades who will be with me in this unit – to pay tribute, ”Tishchenko explained.