The Ukrainian army is struggling to recruit enough soldiers. An estimated 650,000 men of fighting age have left the country, and others are lying low in the hope of avoiding mobilization.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj admitted in February that 31,000 soldiers had been killed in the war, while the United States estimated as of August last year that close to 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and up to 120,000 wounded.
New law
On Wednesday, a majority in Ukraine’s National Assembly voted in favor of a new law that allows certain groups of convicts to avoid serving time if they allow themselves to be enlisted.
– The National Assembly has voted for the voluntary mobilization of prisoners, says the leader of Zelenskij’s party Servants of the People, Olena Sjuljak.
– The law allows for certain categories of prisoners who want to defend their country to be allowed to join the defense forces, she says.
Convicted of murder
The offer only applies to those who have less than three years left to serve, and inmates who have been convicted of sexual assault, murder of more than two people or serious corruption are not covered by the new law.
Neither do high-ranking officials or politicians serving sentences, according to Sjuljak.
The new law will enter into force as soon as it is signed by the President of the Ukrainian National Assembly, as well as by Zelensky.
Ukrainian authorities have previously criticized Russia for granting amnesty to convicts sent to the front in Ukraine.
