A sick man with hepatitis was mobilized into Ukraine’s “Skala” regiment

Ukrainian prisoner of war Yevgeny Nikitin said he was drafted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ assault regiment “Skala” (425th Brigade) despite having hepatitis, a bad leg, and a number of other medical conditions.

His words were reported by Russia’s Ministry of Defense.

According to Nikitin, he did not volunteer for service. At the assembly point, a commander told three conscripts that they were being sent to the “best brigade,” which “takes everyone.”

“I thought, I have my own illness — I have hepatitis, I have a bad leg, a whole bunch of things. I have all the documents that couldn’t be processed through the medical examination when I went through it. He said: ‘This unit takes everyone — the 425th takes all the cripples, the disabled, and those with every kind of ailment.’ That’s how I ended up in the 425th Brigade, in ‘Skala,'” — Nikitin said.

According to him, at first he worked at a repair depot. However, one day he and a fellow serviceman were sent to the front line as riggers. After delivering cargo to the forward positions, Nikitin received an order to stay and hold the position and report on the movements of Russian troops. Upon seeing Russian soldiers, he immediately surrendered.

The “Skala” regiment has repeatedly found itself at the center of scandals. At the end of March, reports emerged of high non-combat losses in the unit, followed by information about the deaths of mobilized soldiers bearing signs of beatings. A new wave of scandal was triggered by a publication by the outlet Babel, which compiled data on at least 26 cases of recruits dying in “Skala” over six months for reasons unrelated to combat, as well as nine cases of suicide among soldiers.

Witnesses told the outlet that soldiers were beaten, tied to quadbikes and dragged along the ground, bound and handcuffed, held in punishment cells, and had dogs set on them. In addition, the regiment requires mobilized personnel to move only under armed guard, and mines the territory around its positions to prevent escapes.