A former Ukrainian senior lieutenant who has been held in detention for nearly two years claims he joined a Russian combat unit composed of prisoners of war to escape captivity. Pavlo Oliynyk, 25, says he accepted the offer to reach the front lines and slip into Ukrainian-controlled territory. He states he was electrocuted, beaten, and psychologically tortured during his time as a prisoner of war.

Russia announced the formation of the Maksym Kryvonis battalion, which has drawn significant attention for participating in active combat. Reports of Russian units recruiting Ukrainian prisoners emerged in late 2022, and several detachments merged into the Ukrainian Volunteer Special Forces Brigade in August 2026. While Russian media claim the battalion numbers about 200 fighters, available footage points to several dozen. An investigative team at the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne has identified over 30 members, confirming they are former Ukrainian servicemen captured between 2023 and 2024.

The circumstances surrounding these recruitments remain heavily contested. In 2025, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed had experienced torture or ill-treatment. Bill Wiley of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability says the physical and mental condition of returned combatants raises serious doubts about whether they joined willingly. Mykhailo Savva of the Center for Civil Liberties points to ongoing criminal cases against several battalion members as evidence that some individuals switched sides voluntarily.

Distinguishing between coercion and ideological choice proves difficult under wartime captivity conditions. Veteran Maksym Butkevych, who spent 28 months in Russian custody, explains that prisoners faced constant pressure. "They showed us they could do anything they wanted to us, which was why we should agree to everything," he says. Between 2022 and 2023, Ukrainian POWs received persistent offers to join the Russian army. Shybalov notes that interrogators first demanded confessions or intelligence recruitment, then shifted to psychological coercion. "You can torture people to get them to confess, but there comes the difficult moment when you need to give them a weapon. That's why it's more about psychological pressure, and forcing voluntary compliance," he says.

Oliynyk describes a system built on intimidation. He says he initially rejected multiple recruitment attempts and only accepted a fourth offer to create an opportunity to flee. He claims he signed a private contract rather than official military paperwork and attended instructional sessions where he reviewed videos and photographs. In a circulating online video, he states that former Ukrainian POWs were monitored by mercenaries from the private military company Redut and received monthly wages in envelopes handed out by Russian military intelligence. He was issued a phone but feared using it due to constant surveillance. Oliynyk denies fighting against Ukrainian forces, stating he ran across a field in March 2025 before his scheduled deployment in the Donetsk province. He spent two days hiding in basements and houses before making contact with Ukrainian fighters.

Pavel Luzin of the Center for European Policy Analysis views the units as a psychological mirror of Russian volunteer brigades fighting for Ukraine. He argues Moscow created the formations to highlight that Russians fight for Kyiv while Ukrainians refuse to fight for Moscow. Ukrainian intelligence services share this assessment. Meanwhile, Oliynyk remains in detention while authorities investigate potential treason. He has not been formally charged.

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