KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian Defense Ministry announcement this week of a new battalion composed of Ukrainian "volunteers" has prompted conflicting accounts from Ukrainian veterans and former prisoners of war who say the reality on the ground differs sharply from Moscow's portrayal. The ministry said the unit, named the Bogdan Khmelnitsky Battalion, was formed from Ukrainian citizens who "voluntarily expressed a desire" to fight alongside Russian forces. Officials described recruits as motivated by shared history and opposition to the government in Kyiv.