25 hours ago · Russia
Ukrainian prisoners of war and defectors have been gathered into a Russian battalion to face Ukrainian forces — why? And how?
What's happening
SignalsMonitor is following this as a conflict story. Deutsche Welle All News and Deutsche Welle World are the outlets attached to this story. The reports are tied to Russia. The first report grouped here was at 11 Oct 2026, 06:38 UTC. 4 material updates are listed in the timeline. The headline in use is “Ukrainian prisoners of war and defectors have been gathered into a Russian battalion to face Ukrainian forces — why? And how?”. This note is SignalsMonitor's own briefing, not the publisher's article.
What we know
Russia has announced a battalion consisting of Ukrainian "volunteers." But veterans and former prisoners of war share very different accounts.
Related topics and places
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Story timeline
Reports grouped into this story, earliest first. Exact repeats from the same outlet are collapsed.
- First reported by Deutsche Welle All News
- New development reported by Deutsche Welle All News
- Picked up by Deutsche Welle World
Same story, different outlets
2 headlinesEach line is that outlet's headline. The article stays on the publisher's site.