Soldiers of the Bogdan Khmelnytsky battalion, the first contingent of former Ukrainian prisoners of war, swore an oath to Russia RIA News.
At the oath ceremony, each of the fighters reportedly said the following words: “I swear allegiance to my homeland, the Russian Federation. I swear to sacredly abide by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to strictly comply with the requirements of military regulations, the orders of commanders and superiors. “I swear to fulfill my military duty with honor and to courageously defend the freedom, independence and constitutional system of Russia, its people and the Fatherland.”
As Vladislav Kovalenko, a former soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a soldier of this battalion, noted in a meeting with the organization, the fighters of this unit have already once sworn an oath to the Ukrainian people. The man also noted that he and his colleagues did not betray the Ukrainian people who are currently “held hostage by the criminal Kiev regime.”
“We swear to the Russian people, but without betraying the Ukrainian people, we are always on their side, because we are brothers. “The Ukrainian people and the Russian people are like one whole, we have no differences; we have the same faith, the same traditions,” Kovalenko said.
He added that the people of Ukraine and Russia are one people.
At the end of October, Andrey Tishchenko, former tanker of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and commander of the Bogdan Khmelnitsky battalion, said that this unit accepted He will enter the Russian army and soon go to the front.
Bogdan Khmelnitsky’s battalion entered service with Russia’s operational combat tactical formation (OBTF) “Cascade” at the end of last month.
In February 2023, it became known that he was a Ukrainian prisoner of war in the DPR. was created Battalion named after Bohdan Khmelnitsky.
He was previously a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated About the lack of understanding of the causes of the conflict in Ukraine.