Ukraine taps prisoners for war effort amid mobilization challenges

"I would prefer a motivated prisoner volunteer over someone caught off the street or dragged out of their home and forced into military service," says retired Col. Piotr Lewandowski in an interview. Kyiv announced that over 3,000 prisoners conditionally released from jails have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are already in military units.

In a rural penal colony in southeastern Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region, several prisoners stand behind barbed wire. They listen to an army recruiter offering them a chance at conditional release. In return, they must take up arms and head to the front to face the Russians.

“You can put an end to this and start a new life,” said the recruiter, a member of a volunteer storm battalion. AP journalists quote his words. "The most important thing is your will, because you will defend your homeland. You cannot be 50% successful; you have to give 100%, or even 150%,” added the military officer.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine stated that over 3,000 prisoners conditionally released from jails have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are already in military units.

This happened after the parliament approved a mobilization law signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 17. The right to release from serving a sentence to join the army does not apply to those convicted of intentional murder of two or more people, pedophilia, rape, sexual assault, and corruption, as well as those convicted of crimes against state security.

It also does not apply to convicts who held high state positions before their sentences, including ministers and deputies, and those convicted of drug production, distribution, or possession.

According to estimates by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, potentially around 27,000 prisoners could qualify for the new program.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska said that a large part of the motivation comes from the fact that prisoners "want to return home as heroes, not as former prisoners."

There is no shortage of volunteers. Ernest Wolwach is 27 years old. He is serving a two-year sentence for robbery. He works in the kitchen, scooping food into metal bowls. “It's stupid to sit here and do nothing,” he says in an interview with AP and adds that since the beginning of the war, he has wanted to do something for Ukraine and have the opportunity to enlist in the army.

“I decided to sign up for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army because I have a family at home, children, parents,” said the 29-year-old, shouting over the sounds of gunfire at the shooting range. “I will be more useful in the war,” he added.

“These actions indicate significant problems with mobilizing men,” says retired Col. Piotr Lewandowski, a participant in missions: Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan. Currently an instructor and lecturer at the WOT Training Centre. “Ukraine needs to replenish losses, although they are also talking about creating 10 new brigades. This confirms that mobilization problems are serious. However, the mere fact of incorporating prisoners will not negatively impact the capabilities of the armed forces. Quite the opposite,” he adds.

“I would prefer a motivated prisoner volunteer over someone caught off the street or dragged out of their home and forced into military service,” the military officer emphasizes.

Ukraine has had this problem for a long time. The Border Guard reports daily cases of attempts to escape the country. In just one day, 100 men were detained.

The country is abuzz with an investigation into orders issued by Gen. Yuriy Sodol, who has been called 'the butcher.' Soldiers, in horrifying accounts, claim that "Sodol did not value personnel. Neither officers nor soldiers," and due to his absurd orders, tens, if not hundreds, of soldiers died.

Another problem for Kyiv is that approximately 800,000 men of draft age have left the country. In mid-May, a law came into effect blocking consular services for men aged 18 to 65. Without an up-to-date registration with the Military Recruitment Office, they will not be able to, for example, apply for a passport or even change their marital status.

No one in Ukraine is surprised anymore by roundups, which have become commonplace. TCK workers forcibly seized and packed into cars the so-called evaders, who did not report to the military commission or did not enter their data into military recruitment systems.

Col. Lewandowski admits that Ukraine decided to draft prisoners into the army "definitely too late."

“The reasons were non-substantive, only PR,” he explains. “The other side will undoubtedly use this to spread misinformation that Ukrainians will be sending criminals to fight. The Russians will use this while ignoring the fact that they are doing it in a much more drastic way,” the expert emphasizes.

“In the case of prisoner mobilization rules in Ukraine, it should be noted that these are not individuals forcibly extracted from penal colonies. In Ukraine, these applications are reviewed by a court and relate to a specific group of crimes. There was information that individuals serving sentences for unintentional manslaughter would be pardoned, but the key is that there is no intentionality in the act,” Col. Lewandowski highlights.

In comparison, the now-defunct Wagner Group recruited the most brutal and terrifying criminals into its unit – often convicted of multiple rapes, murders with particular cruelty, and those addicted to drugs or alcohol.

In mid-March, the Russian State Duma passed two bills in the third and final reading, which will allow prisoners to be released from serving sentences under the condition of signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence. Thousands of criminals, including rapists, will go to the front.

Kyiv emphasizes that the essence of the prisoner recruitment program is their integration into regular units. Conversely, the Kremlin most often placed convicts in the so-called Storm-V and Storm-Z units. British intelligence noted that Russian commanders often punish soldiers abusing drugs and alcohol by forcing them to fight in the Storm-Z units, which were established in April 2023.

Storm-V units were created after June 24 of the same year, when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed new legislation allowing convicts to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence for six months. If they did not perish, they received the promised amnesty upon their return. From January to October 2023 alone, approximately 54,000 convicts would be incorporated into the units. Soldiers from the Z and V units also regularly participated in meat attacks.