Russia Sent Imprisoned Women Into Frontline Medical Duty — UNITED24 Media
Russian women recruited from penal colonies into an experimental military medical program were later sent to frontline evacuation duty, where some reported sexual violence, threats of execution, abuse, and separation from newborn children, according to Russian investigative outlet Verstka on August 12.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The “Choice” program
The program, known as “Vybór,” or “Choice,” began in 2024 and recruited 73 convicted women for military medical service, Verstka reported. Around the New Year of 2025, the women were moved to the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region.
According to the outlet, they were first assigned to the 370th Separate Medical Battalion before being dispersed among hospitals and frontline units.
From medic to evacuation under fire
Though recruited for medical work, some were ordered to evacuate wounded and dead soldiers under artillery fire and drone attacks, Verstka found.
Participants became known as “V-shki,” after the program’s name. Several described discriminatory treatment tied to their status as former prisoners, the investigation noted.
One woman, speaking to Verstka on condition of anonymity, recounted being repeatedly reminded that she held fewer rights than other service members. “They took everything. You are not entitled to anything. You are a V-shka,” she recalled being told.
Allegations of sexual violence
Verstka also documented allegations of sexual violence against women in the program. Military medic Lyudmila Poltarakova accused Colonel Sergei Zhitkov, commander of Russia’s 12th Tank Regiment, of repeatedly raping her from February through at least March 2025. No rape case had been opened over her allegations by the time the investigation was published, according to the outlet.
Poltarakova reported the alleged rape to military prosecutors on July 12, 2026, while fearing she could be sent to the front or killed.
She was subsequently removed from a hospital. By the eve of publication, Verstka added, she was alive and at the front. Russian authorities had opened a criminal case against her for allegedly refusing an order to leave the hospital for a combat assignment.
Verstka also recorded threats faced by another former prisoner. She identified a man who claimed to be the brother of an FSB officer. He warned that he would throw a grenade into her dugout if she refused his demands.
Children taken from their mothers
The investigation also found that some women gave birth while serving. At least three newborns were separated from their mothers shortly after birth and placed with relatives rather than in orphanages, an anonymous source told Verstka.
“The baby isn’t even a month old, and they take them away from their mothers,” the source recounted. “I personally sent the children away. I still feel terrible.”
The recruitment of imprisoned women reflects a widening Russian search for manpower that has increasingly drawn in groups once kept far from the war.
In June 2026, at least five young women were documented signing wartime contracts at a technical college in the Ulyanovsk region, pressed to enlist with promises of “easy money” and assurances they faced no risk of reaching the front line.
We report the war as it unfolds directly from the people and places most affected by it. Your support helps us bring these stories to the world.