Ex-Prisoners in Ukrainian “Magura” Brigade Capture Donetsk Outpost

14 July, 2024

Landing of assaultmans of the “Shkval” Special Battalion with M2 Bradley, July 2024. Photo credits: 47th Brigade

Soldiers of the “Shkval” Special Battalion recruited in prisons conducted a sweep and captured the invaders positions in the Donetsk region.

The news was published by the 47th Mechanized Brigade.

The brigade’s press service released a video of an assault unit from the Shkval special battalion, in which soldiers on M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles broke into the invaders’ positions on the outskirts of Novoselivka Persha village.

The soldiers successfully landed and, with the support of an infantry fighting vehicle, stormed the landing, clearing it of Russian occupants.

It is worth noting that it is unlikely that the “Shkval” Battalion received its own M2 Bradleys. Most likely, the armored vehicles were assigned to another unit of the 47th Brigade for this task.

The 47th ‘Magura’ Brigade has been fighting in the Cheremotyn area for a long time, holding back the Russian army’s offensive. In particular, since the beginning of June, it has been holding back enemy attempts to capture Novoselivka Persha.

According to DeepState, Russian troops from the east and north are conducting constant offensives and trying to gain a foothold in the village.

However, due to the constant pressure of the Magura fighters, the enemy has not yet been able to take full control of the settlement.

Last month, the Ukrainian military showed the training of the first specialized battalion formed from convicts as part of the 92nd Assault Brigade.

The special battalion includes former prisoners mobilized from prisons who voluntarily expressed their desire to serve in the Armed Forces and fight against Russia.

The published footage showed the training process, during which the fighters took tactical and medical training courses.

Підготовка спецбатальйону із колишніх ув’язнених у складі 92 ОШБр, червень 2024 року. Фото: ТСН

Training of a special battalion of former prisoners as part of the 92nd Brigade, June 2024. Photo credits: TSN

In addition to the 92nd Separate Special Forces Brigade, there are reports of convicts being used in other units: 1st Separate Assault Battalion “Da Vinci” and 3rd Assault Brigade. The latter will have its own approach to assimilating the new contingent and will not create separate units.

2 comments

  1. I’m pleased to see that these ex-convicts are having a positive effect on the Ukrainian army by this performance. I hope that the rest are, too.

    “In addition to the 92nd Separate Special Forces Brigade, there are reports of convicts being used in other units: 1st Separate Assault Battalion “Da Vinci” and 3rd Assault Brigade. The latter will have its own approach to assimilating the new contingent and will not create separate units.”

    Some think that creating ex-convict-only units are better than mixing them with regular troops. We’ll see which concept is the better one as time goes by.

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