The Ukrainian army could gain 10 to 20 thousand fighters thanks to the recruitment of prisoners. In an interview with the Ukrainian version of the BBC, the local Minister of Justice Denys Maljuska estimated this. This week, the Ukrainian parliament approved a law that allows for the voluntary mobilization of prisoners convicted of minor crimes (more details here).
But Maljuska said that it is not an exact number. Everything will depend on the approach of the conscription commissions and how the prisoners will be in health.
According to the minister, the law will also help solve overcrowding in Ukrainian prisons. “I strongly support the mobilization of prisoners and convicts so that we do not violate regulations on the number of people in certain spaces,” explained Maljuska.
At the same time, Ukraine has been struggling with a shortage of soldiers for a long time. Units mobilized at the beginning of the Russian invasion are still often fighting at the front, and at the moment there is no one to replace them.
The law does not allow the mobilization of people convicted of crimes threatening the national security of Ukraine, murder of two or more people, rape, sexual abuse of minors, killing in a traffic accident caused under the influence of an addictive substance, drug crimes or corruption.
More details about mobilization
Kyiv has not yet said how many troops it wants or needs to mobilize. The decision is politically sensitive, but it is not just about his unpopularity. The New York Times, referring to UN models, writes that Ukraine has a particularly low number of young men.
At the same time, the mobilized must have completed the majority of the sentence, in the case of people convicted of murder, it must be three quarters, writes the Ukrainian server Kyiv Post.
In an interview with the BBC, the minister defended the inclusion of some murderers in the law, for example those who got behind bars young. “People who committed a crime at a very young age, 18 to 19 years old… Their brain is not yet formed, their psyche is not stable. After decades in prison, the psychological profile of such people has nothing in common with those who killed at the age of 18 or 19. Any psychologist would confirm that,” stated Maljuska.
Maljuska admitted that Ukraine’s law must draw parallels to Russia’s conscripting of prisoners to the front. “But it’s still a matter of different approaches. They (Russia) had a forced mobilization, they forced everyone to leave (prison), they didn’t prepare anyone, and without preparation (the prisoners) were mostly just meat,” the minister said.
Russia often sends inexperienced fighters to the front line and does not pay much attention to high losses when conquering other territories.
