DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — In a rural penal colony in southeastern Ukraine, several inmates gather under barbed wire to hear an army recruiter offer them parole. In exchange, they must participate in the fierce fight against Russia.
“You can put an end to all this and start a new life,” said the recruiter, a member of a volunteer assault battalion. “The main thing is your will, because you are going to defend the homeland. You won’t succeed at 50%, you have to give 100%, even 150%.”
Ukraine is expand the project to deal with severe shortages on the battlefield, more than two years after battling Russia’s full-scale invasion. And its recruiting efforts have turned, for the first time, to the country’s prison population.
Although Ukraine announces no details on the number of troops deployed or casualties, front-line commanders openly acknowledge that they face serious manpower problems as Russia continues to reinforce its forces in eastern Ukraine and make gradual gains westward.
More than 3,000 prisoners have already been paroled and assigned to military units after such recruitment was approved by Parliament in a controversial mobilization bill last month, the vice-president told the Associated Press. Ukrainian Minister of Justice, Olena Vysotska.
According to Justice Department estimates, approximately 27,000 inmates could potentially be eligible for the new program.
“A lot of the motivation comes from the fact that inmates want to go home as heroes, not come home after being released from prison,” Vysotska said.
Ernest Volvach, 27, wants to accept the offer. He is serving a two-year sentence for robbery in the penal colony in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. He works in the kitchen, spooning spoonfuls of food into tin bowls.
“It’s stupid to sit here and do nothing,” Volvach said, adding that since the war started he wanted to “do something for Ukraine” and have the opportunity to enlist. “Now it has appeared.”
Ukrainian soldiers on active duty are generally identified only by their first name or a call sign, for security reasons. Many inmates at the Dnipropetrovsk penal colony also asked to be identified only by their first names to avoid difficulties if they enlisted.
Another inmate, 30, who goes by the name Volodymyr, makes rivets in a workshop in the penal colony. He said he planned to volunteer after his sentence ends in a year, but would not do so now because there is effectively no home leave under the parole program.
Prisoners are eligible for parole after an interview, medical examination and review of their conviction. Those convicted of rape, sexual assault, murder of two or more people or crimes against the national security of Ukraine are not eligible.
Ukrainian officials are keen to distinguish their program from Russia’s recruitment of convicts to serve in the notorious Wagner mercenary group. Those fighters have typically been sent to the deadliest battles, officials say, but the Ukrainian program aims to integrate the inmates into regular Ukrainian front-line units.
The country has a prison population of around 42,000 people, according to figures provided by the government to the European Union.
While recent reforms have reduced prisoner numbers and improved conditions in some facilities, the U.S. State Department noted credible reports of “degrading treatment or punishment” by prison authorities in its annual human rights report last year.
After being selected, paroled prisoners are immediately sent to camps for basic training where they learn how to handle weapons and master other combat techniques. The training is completed later, once they have joined the various units.
Mykhailo, a parolee, participated in an obstacle course and said it was difficult to meet the physical demands after months of relative inactivity in prison — getting in and out of armed personnel carriers and running through obstacle courses.
“I decided to join the Ukrainian Volunteer Army because I have a family at home, children, parents,” explains the 29-year-old, speaking over the sound of shots. of fire on a shooting range. “I will be more useful in the war. »
Vysotska, the deputy justice minister, said interest in the military parole program had exceeded initial expectations and that it could lead to up to 5,000 new recruits. “That would definitely help,” she said.
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Gatopoulos reported from kyiv. Volodymyr Yurchuk from Dnipropetrovsk region and Dmytro Zhyhinas from kyiv contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
