ROMAN PETRENKO — MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2022, 16:11

After the sham referendum in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is over, the Russians will send Ukrainians from the occupied territories to war, said Yevhen Balytskyi, the Russian-appointed "governor" of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Source: Russian state-owned news outlet TASS

Details: According to Balytskyi, after the sham referendum for accession of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Russia, "volunteers" of the battalion that is being formed there will go to war against Ukraine, as part of the Russian Armed Forces.

The Russians announced that more than 2,000 conscripts from Crimea and Sevastopol, who had previously served in the Ukrainian army, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Russian Federation.

For reference: Recruitment of residents of occupied territories to the occupying army is prohibited by Article 51 of the Geneva Convention, and it is a war crime.

Forcing citizens of Ukraine to participate in hostilities against their own state is another war crime.

Background: On 26 September, Balytskyi said that he had become a member of Edinaya Rossiya [United Russia], the pro-government party of the Russian Federation.

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