Since Ukraine's new conscription law took effect, over 2,750 prisoners have been released from detention to join the Ukrainian military, the Washington Post reported on June 16.
Ukraine's parliament passed a bill on May 8 permitting those convicted under certain charges to serve in the Armed Forces, paving the way for the voluntary mobilization of prisoners. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill into law on May 17.
The government has aimed to ramp up mobilization efforts in 2024 and has pledged to change the approach to military recruitment, giving more choices to potential conscripts.
As of May 25, the judiciary received 4,300 applications, and is already considering most of them, Ukraine's Justice Minister Denys Maliuska told the New York Times.
"The motivation of our inmates is stronger than our ordinary soldiers," Maliuska said in an interview with the Washington Post released on June 16. "Their release is only one part of the motive. They want to protect their country and they want to turn the page."
Convicts released under a new law will serve in separate units of the Ukrainian military. Those released will reportedly be supervised by the military units they enlist in and cannot leave their units without their commanders' permission.
The minister added that the Ukrainian command could mix former prisoners with other military units in the future, considering their performance on the battlefield.
"There is a competition between military commanders to hire (convicts)," Maliuska told the Post. "There is a lack of manpower, so they really want to get access.”
Maliuska said earlier in May that Ukraine could fill its ranks with as many as 20,000 convicts in a move that would also help ease overcrowding in Ukrainian prisons.
Prisoners are currently undergoing military training that will last "at least a couple of months," Maliuska said on national television on May 27.
Alexander Khrebet
