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 US already estimated in August last year that close to 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and up to 120,000 wounded.
Watch video: Think this forces the Russians to stay away
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 certain categories of prisoners who want to defend their country to be allowed to join the defense forces, she says.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB / NTB
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.
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Russian tactics
That Russia recruits from prisons and prison owners has been discussed on several occasions since the war broke out in full in 2022.
According to figures ABC Nyheter has previously discussed, Russia is said to have recruited over 100,000 prisoners in the last two years.
The figures are taken from various organizations that work for prisoners’ rights in Russia. In addition to a list of prisoners recruited by Oseshkin, a source from Russia’s state penal service and videos from prisons have formed the basis of the figures.
The trend was started by the Wagner Group when its now deceased leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, lured Russian prisoners with pardons and money in return for six months of service in the private army, in the summer of 2022.
