| Shkval Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Батальйон Шквал | |
| Active | 2024 – Present |
| Allegiance |  Ukraine |
| Type | Penal military unit |
| Role | Assault troops [1] |
| Size | Unknown |
| Engagements | Russian Invasion of Ukraine |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | "Oleksandr" [2] [3] [4] |
The Shkval Battalion is series Ukrainian Penal military units [5] that were formed in 2024 after the Verkhovna Rada passed Registered draft law No. 11079 which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the Ukrainian Army. [6] [7]
The Shikval battalions were formed in 2024 after a bill was passed and then signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky which allowed for the mobilization of convicts into the Ukrainian Army. [8]
Like other Russian and Ukrainian penal military units, members of the battalion are recruited from prisons on the premise that successful service would result in a deduction of their sentence. [9] 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. [10] Members of the battalion were then trained by other Ukrainian units. [11] [12] Like with other Ukrainian penal battalions, if a member of the battalion would attempt to desert or retreat without authorisation, an additional 5 to 10 years would be added to their sentence. [13] 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. [14]
Unlike other Ukrainian penal units, Shkval is a series of penal battalions rather than a single unit similar to the Russian Storm-Z. [5] Per Ukrainian Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denys Maliuska, Shkval Battalions are classified as "Assault units". [15] [16] Each Shkval Battalion is attached to a regular Ukrainian brigade. [17]
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". [18] He also raised concerns about convicts being abused by their commanders and used as cannon fodder saying "Some commanders treat even ordinary mobilised people badly, why would it be different for prisoners?" [19] [20] Some convicts said that they had only had 20 days of training before being sent to the frontline. [21] [22] [14]
Shkval battalions saw action during the Pokrovsk offensive. [2] A Ukrainian officer who wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told CNN that the battalions had refused to fight alongside conscripts due to their low morale and lack of motivation to fight. [10] Another Ukrainian officer claimed in a post on Telegram that the battalion had been thrown into assaults with no professional military training and no coordination with the other units which resulted in heavy losses. [23] However, Ukrainian media outlets reported that the battalion fights bravely and destroys Russian forces in large numbers. [3] [24] One officer with the callsign "Kit" spoke with UNN about the 47th Mechanized Brigade's Shkval Battalion where he praised their motivation but said that there were "issues with their upbringing". [4] During combat in the village of Druzhba, Donetsk Oblast, of the 1,000 convicts of the Shkval battalion that was attached to the 28th Mechanized Brigade, only 120 of them survived engagement. [25] However, Yevgeny Alkhimov, an officer of the 28th Mechanized Brigade, praised the soldiers of the brigade's Shkval battalion after an assault on Russia positions northeast of the city of Toretsk saying that the soldiers "showed themselves very well at the tactical level in order to level the positions, to somehow improve our situation. Actually, they stormed enemy positions and repulsed them". [26]
(Nicknamed Alkatraz. Also known as the Specialized Rifle Battalion) [31] [32] 
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