With restrictions
Ukraine is also sending prisoners to the front
May 8, 2024, 5:08 p.m
Just a few months after the start of the war, Russia began using prisoners in combat. Ukraine is now following suit almost two years later, but with two important restrictions.
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill that would allow prisoners to be deployed to the front lines. As MP Olena Schuljak announced on the online service Facebook, the MPs in Kiev voted for the project in the second reading with 279 yes votes.
In return for an amnesty, this allows imprisoned criminals to be deployed in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces at the front. According to Schuljak, this should only happen on a voluntary basis. Serious criminals who are imprisoned for murder, rape or attacks on national security should be denied this opportunity.
The move goes hand in hand with stricter conscription in Ukraine. In April, a new law was passed to increase troop numbers. In the future, soldiers from the age of 25 should be able to be sent to the front. Previously, the minimum age for combat missions was 27 years. In addition, conscripts must register with the authorities within 60 days, which is intended to make it easier for them to be called up. The pay of war volunteers will be increased by the new law.
According to military analysts, the Ukrainian armed forces are suffering from a shortage of personnel and ammunition. “The enemy outnumbers us seven to ten times, and we lack personnel,” said General Yuriy Sodol, who commands troops in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia chose to use convicts in war after just a few months. According to British information, Russia has its attacks against Ukrainian positions carried out primarily by former prisoners and disgraced soldiers. “Since spring 2023 at the latest, the “Sturm-Z” have become de facto penal battalions staffed with convicts and regular soldiers who have committed disciplinary violations,” the British Ministry of Defense announced in October 2023.