The Ukrainian prisoners going into combat
The Ukrainian prisoners going into combat
A controversial new law allows parole for prisoners convicted of less serious crimes – if they serve in the Ukrainian military. We shine a light on those who have made this decision:
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Volodymyr Barandich has been making barbed wire in a penal colony near Kyiv for the past six months.
But now he can be released, and plans to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces… again.
In 2018 Volodymyr was accused of drug trafficking by the Ukrainian authorities. He wasn’t sentenced for six years. He was not in pre-trial detention, so when the full-scale war started, he decided to go to war and fight for his country.
Before the war, Volodymyr had served in the National Guard of Ukraine, and in February 2022 he joined the Armed Forces. He ended up fighting near the city of Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region.
During the fiercest battles for Avdiivka in January 2024, when Russians were already breaking into the city, the court sentenced Volodymyr to eight years in prison. His brigade's headquarters received a letter from the prosecutor, and Volodymyr was sent away to serve his sentence in a penal colony near Kyiv.
The tactic of mobilizing prisoners into the armed forces is not new, and was used by countries such as the United States during World War II, and Britain during World War I.
But this option was legally forbidden in Ukraine, as the Ukrainian government did not want to imitate Russia, which was harshly criticized for mobilizing murderers and rapists into its armed forces.
The usage of these soldiers show how, after almost three years of war, Ukraine is facing an acute shortage of manpower. The military needs at least 450,000 mobilized people, but the number of people willing to be mobilized is much lower than in 2022.
A new law lowering the age of eligibility and expanding categories for mobilization also falls short, adding only 50,000 soldiers. One way to help is to apply the practice of including prisoners in the war, but while trying to avoid the mistakes made by Russia.
In May, President Zelenskyy signed a law allowing prisoners to voluntarily mobilize into the Armed Forces in exchange for parole. However, unlike in Russia, those convicted of serious crimes like premeditated murder, rape or other serious offenses will not be eligible.
Volodymyr is a professional soldier, and before his imprisonment, he had almost two years of military experience. But even he wasn’t prepared for the full-blown war.
"At first, you don't realize where you are… Later on, you can tell, for example, when a mortar is firing, you can tell by the sound whether it is flying at you or somewhere else. Then I just enjoyed it, it's what I knew how to do and wanted to do," Volodymyr said with a smile, recalling his war experience.
In the fall of 2023, the Russians began constant assaults on the Avdiivka spoil heap, a strategic height on the outskirts of the city, made from the remains of a nearby coke plant. Volodymyr and his comrades defended the position in front of the spoil tip.
During his service near Avdiivka, Volodymyr came under direct tank fire twice, and both times had to dig himself out after shelling. When he got out of the ground the second time, he saw not only the destroyed positions around him, but also that he was one of only two of his eight comrades-in-arms who was still alive.
To prevent the Russians from advancing the command had to return to the positions those soldiers whom Volodymyr and his comrades had replaced only two days earlier and who were supposed to be resting at the time. "There were not enough people, the shifts were bad," he explained.
Despite heavy fighting in the Donetsk region and a shortage of soldiers, Volodymyr was still taken from his positions to serve his prison time in a colony.
And his case is not unique. Ukrainian media have previously reported similar stories. For example, Andrii Sozontsev was also sentenced to eight years for drug smuggling and was sent to prison in August 2022 directly from the frontline near Zaporizhzhia.
Volodymyr, who was assaulting enemy positions near Avdiivka six months ago, is now confined to a small courtyard, a barrack where he lives with others, a dining room, gym, and a workroom where he is crafting low-visibility obstacles, mostly thin wire, from morning to evening – still doing his bit for the war effort.
That is why he applied for mobilization immediately after the new law allowing prisoners to fight was passed. Many of his fellow prisoners, Volodymyr explained, have also expressed the same desire, because they want to be useful. "I didn't ask for a vacation. It's a bit of a shame that my guys are on the front line, and I'm here doing just nothing,” Volodymyr said.
"In 2022 there was a peak of mobilization, [but] in 2023-2024 people became much less motivated. The same thing is happening now in prison –- there is a peak in the number of people who want to mobilize, but it will pass," explained a sergeant of the 47th Magura Brigade, call sign Kyt, who personally visited various penal colonies to interview prisoners. "[Now] this is a second chance for such people."
Before Ukraine, Russia legalized the mobilization of prisoners in November 2022, with few restrictions: even allowing serial killers and rapists to fight.
In addition, it initially granted such convicts a presidential pardon. That meant that after six months of service, if the convict survived, he had the right to return home. This led to a wave of murders and rapes as those convicted of serious crimes began to return from the war. So only earlier this year, Russia replaced pardons with parole and the inability of mobilized prisoners to return home until the end of the war.
The Ukrainian government has learned from Russia's mistakes. Premeditated murderers and rapists were not given the opportunity to mobilize. The contract for a convicted person is valid until the end of martial law, and does not allow for vacations. Under the terms of this contract, a convicted person receives parole after the end of the war.
Since the adoption of the law, more than 6,000 prisoners have expressed a desire to join the armed forces – including seven women – who have already signed a contract with the Armed Forces, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Andrii Soldatkov, 25, convicted under the same crime as Volodymyr, is also a professional soldier. Before the full-scale invasion, he graduated from the Kharkiv National Air Force University with a degree as a MIG-29 technician and engineer, and served in the air force.
However, in 2021, Andrii was sentenced to six years in prison. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he and his cell mates have been writing letters to President Zelenskyy expressing their desire to join the Armed Forces. So, when the new law was passed, he immediately mobilized to the 47th Brigade, which recruited prisoners.
In prison, Andrii spent his time repairing and restoring the premises. A month after he submitted his application, the court decided to allow him to join the army.
"The training now compared to the one I had back at university is like heaven and earth. Back then, the most we could do was running, obstacle running, shooting once, and that was it," Andrii explained. "The current war is a war of drones, so the instructors focused a lot of attention on this."
Prior to his combat missions, Andrii underwent a month and a half of training, which included tactical and firearms training, and basic tactical medicine. This preparation for Ukrainian ex-prisoners for battle is better than on the Russian side, who often throw poorly trained soldiers into so-called "meat assaults."
The skills that Andrii learned in the air force are of little use now, as he is now a soldier, and is doesn’t plan to choose another position: "There are enough qualified personnel in the air force, and there is always a high demand for good infantry, so I am much more useful here," he said.
Battalion Chief Sergeant Kyt says ex-prisoners are often dedicated to the cause.
"These fighters are one for the price of ten," he explained. "Firstly, they are ready for action, they have no childish fear, but rather a certain adventurousness. Secondly, they are disciplined and responsible, they understand orders and carry them out, they do not need to be persuaded."
Kyt personally visits the colonies and conducts interviews with prisoners before they are selected for the army.
His interviews include questions about the potential soldier's motivation, and awareness of the possible consequences of choosing to serve in the army. There are also health checks, including tests for various chronic diseases such as hepatitis. Not everyone is selected, Kyt explained: only about 70% of those he interviewed.
In his opinion, the army can actually influence people better than prison. This is because many of the ex-prisoners now have a purpose, ambitions for advancement, and many of them have quit bad habits they might have picked up during their time behind bars.
The ex-prisoners especially like that the army does not have the "prison culture and hierarchy," which is replaced by brotherhood.
"We have made mistakes, but we can fix them. And we can prove it only on the battlefield," Andrii said.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Good morning to readers! Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.
UKRAINE LAUNCHES INCURSION INTO RUSSIA, LARGEST SINCE INVASION: Local authorities have declared a state of emergency and evacuation of the civilian population in the Kursk region after more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops crossed the border.
The advance of the Ukrainian armed forces into Russian territory is estimated at about 15 kilometers, with a dozen settlements captured, according to reporting by ABC News. The border town of Sudzha, 10 kilometers from the border, is also reported to be under control of the Ukrainian forces.
GAS PRICES IN EUROPE REACHES RECORD HIGHS: Sudzha, the town in Kursk region now controlled by Ukraine, remains the last transshipment point for Russian liquefied natural gas to Europe via Ukraine.
Amid potential risks to gas supplies to Europe, prices have risen to the highest level since December 2023, Bloomberg reports. Since the EU has not sanctioned Russian gas, some European countries still depend on its supplies.
SANCTIONS PUSH RUSSIA, CHINA TO BARTER TRADE: If the deals planned for this autumn succeed, it would be the first time the two countries have bartered in the last 30 years, according to Reuters.
With Russia's and China's payment systems unlinked and more traditional means of banking like SWIFT subject to Western sanctions, the two countries are trying to find another way to trade. Earlier this year, in February, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development even published a detailed guide for Russian companies on how to conduct barter transactions.
UKRAINE PRESSES TO ALLOW MULTIPLE CITIZENSHIP: President Zelenskyy submitted a draft bill to the Ukrainian parliament to legalize multiple citizenship, Ukrainska Pravda reports. If passed, the law will allow foreigners to acquire Ukrainian citizenship without having to renounce their own citizenship, and Ukrainians to acquire the citizenship of another country while retaining their own.
The draft law also allows those foreigners who have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to submit an expired passport document to obtain a residence permit, and generally regulates the legal status of such individuals.
DOG OF WAR:
Today’s dog of war is this massive dog – can we even call him a pup at this point? – being carefully petted by a young girl in a cafe in Kyiv.
Stay safe out there.
Best,
Oleh
Excellent story. Recruiting Ukrainian prisoners convicted of minor offences into the military makes perfect sense.
Ukraine still has a massive manpower shortage. Zelensky must lower the age of eligibility for admission to the armed forces to at least 20 or 21. To not do so, IMHO, is inexcusable.
Something good has come from the war in the rehabilitation of convicted prisoners. Flowers sprout among the weeds. That is good.