Alcatraz Battalion
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Alcatraz Battalion
The Special Rifles Alcatraz Battalion is a penal battalion currently operating as part of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" on the eastern front of the Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then .... Fighting in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhove and Chasiv Yar areas of the Donetsk regions under Commander Validol, the battalion consists of prison inmates who have volunteered to serve militarily, prematurely ending their sentences. Selection for recruits began in July 2024, by August the battalion was engaging in missions. Since December 2024, Canadian volunteer April Huggett has been serving as a combat medic and PR officer for the Alcatraz Battalion. References Battalions of Ukraine Penal military units Military units and formations of Ukraine in ...
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Shkval Battalion
Shkval Battalion is a Ukrainian military unit made up of former convicts. It was formed after the Verkhovna Rada passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the Ukrainian Army. History Formation Members of the battalion are offered wages ranging from $500 to $4,000 per month, depending on time spent on the front line. However, they are required serve in the military until the end of the war. Members of the battalion were then trained by other Ukrainian units. In September 2024, the 59th Brigade's Shkval battalion told reporters that they are making legal requests in order to allow more murderers of various degrees to join their ranks. Treatment and use Protection for Prisoners of Ukraine leader Oleg Tsvily said that his organization "supports the idea behind the law but the text that was passed is discriminatory". He also raised concerns about convicts being abused by their commanders and used as cannon fodder. Some convicts said tha ...
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Cherkaske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Cherkaske () is a rural settlement in Samar Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Cherkaske settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: It is home to the 93rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Cherkaske is located in close proximity to another military townlet, Zarichne. History During the Cold War, the 22nd Guards Tank Division was based in Cherkaske. The settlement originated in 1949 as the military townlet of Nove, where a training battalion was originally stationed, and was renamed in 1957 after the Cherkassy honorific title of the 22nd Guards Tank Division. Until 26 January 2024, Cherkaske was designated urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So .... On this day, a ne ...
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Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has a population of about approximately 80% of whom live centering on administrative centers: Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Kamianske, Nikopol, Ukraine, Nikopol and Pavlohrad. The Dnieper, Dnieper River runs through the oblast. Geography Most of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, including Dnipro Raion, is located in eastern Ukraine, though some parts are in central Ukraine, central and southern Ukraine, such as Kamianske Raion and Nikopol Raion, respectively. The area of the oblast (31,974 km2) comprises about 5.3% of the total area of the country. Its longitude from north to south is 130 km, from east to west – 300 km. The oblast borders the Poltava Oblast, Poltava and Kharkiv Oblast, Kharkiv oblasts on the north, the Donetsk Obla ...
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Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thousands of Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War, military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, civilian casualties. As of 2025, Russian troops Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupy about 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million Ukrainian refugee crisis, had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's List of largest refugee crises, largest refugee crisis since World War II. In late 2021, Russia Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, massed troops near Ukraine's borders and December 2021 Russian ultimatum to NATO, issued demands to the Western world, West i ...
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Penal Battalion
A penal military unit, also known as a penal formation, disciplinary unit, or just penal unit (usually named for their formation and size, such as ''penal battalion'' for battalions, ''penal regiment'' for regiments, ''penal company'' for companies, etc.), is a military formation consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may consist of military prisoners convicted under military law, civilian prisoners convicted in civilian courts, prisoners of war who have chosen to side with their captors, or a combination of these groups. Service in penal military units is generally considered a form of punishment, discipline, or penal labour, used in lieu of, or offered as an alternative to, imprisonment or capital punishment. Penal units have historically been used as disposable cannon fodder, treated poorly or with little regard and used in compromising or dangerous situations (commonly suicide missions such as demining or forlorn hope advance parties), as marc ...
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93rd Mechanized Brigade
The 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" () is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in 1992. It has been described as "one of the most brutally effective" of Ukraine’s front-line brigades. By January 2023, Western analysts claimed that due to captured Russian and donated Western equipment and incorporation of local volunteer battalions into the units structure, the 93rd was the size of an armored Division (military), division, being a mechanized brigade in name only. The brigade is named after the Kholodny Yar Republic, Kholodnyi Yar Republic, a Ukrainian partisan state during the Ukrainian War of Independence. History The brigade traces its history to the 93rd Guards Rifle Division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed at Valuki in April 1943 from 13th Guards and 92nd Rifle Brigades. The division fought at Kursk, Kharkiv, Budapest, and Prague, and was serving with the 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. After a period as a 35th Guards ...
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Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian paramilitaries who began a War in Donbas, war in the eastern Donbas region against Ukraine's military. In 2018, Ukraine declared the region to be Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied by Russia. These first eight years of conflict also included List of Black Sea incidents involving Russia and Ukraine, naval incidents and Russo-Ukrainian cyberwarfare, cyberwarfare. In February 2022, Russia launched a Russian invasion of Ukraine, full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country, starting the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The war has resulted in a Ukrainian refugee crisis, refugee crisis and hundreds of thousands of deaths. In early 201 ...
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Battalions Of Ukraine
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several companies, each typically commanded by a major or a captain. The typical battalion is built from three operational companies, one weapons company and one headquarters company. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word ''battalion'' has its origins in the Late Latin word ''battalion'', which is derived from ''battalia'', meaning "battle" or "combat." The term was used to describe a large group of soldiers ready for battle. Over time, its meaning evolved in military terminology. The word "battalion" came into the English language in the 16th century from the French , meaning "battle squadron" (similar to the Italian meaning the same thing) and the Spanish , derived from the Vulgar Latin noun ("battle") and ultimately from the Classical La ...
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Penal Military Units
A penal military unit, also known as a penal formation, disciplinary unit, or just penal unit (usually named for their formation and size, such as ''penal battalion'' for battalions, ''penal regiment'' for regiments, ''penal company'' for companies, etc.), is a military formation consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may consist of military prisoners convicted under military law, civilian prisoners convicted in civilian courts, prisoners of war who have chosen to side with their captors, or a combination of these groups. Service in penal military units is generally considered a form of punishment, discipline, or penal labour, used in lieu of, or offered as an alternative to, imprisonment or capital punishment. Penal units have historically been used as disposable cannon fodder, treated poorly or with little regard and used in compromising or dangerous situations (commonly suicide missions such as demining or forlorn hope advance parties), as march ...
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Military Units And Formations Of Ukraine In The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a distinct military uniform. They may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of a military is usually defined as defence of their state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms "armed forces" and "military" are often synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include other paramilitary forces such as armed police. Beyond warfare, the military may be employed in additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within the state, including internal security threats, crowd control, promotion of political agendas, emergency services and reconstructi ...
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Military Units And Formations Established In 2024
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a distinct military uniform. They may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of a military is usually defined as defence of their state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms "armed forces" and "military" are often synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include other paramilitary forces such as armed police. Beyond warfare, the military may be employed in additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within the state, including internal security threats, crowd control, promotion of political agendas, emergency services and reconstruction, pro ...
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