Thursday, May 9, 2024 -Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill that would enable some prisoners to fight in the armed forces as the military faces a critical personnel shortage and Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield.
The move marks a U-turn in Ukraine’s
approach to the matter. Kyiv had long opposed the measure and had repeatedly
criticised Moscow for mobilising prisoners to fill its army ranks.
The legislation would need to be signed by the chairperson of parliament, the
Verkhovna Rada, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before becoming law.
“The
parliament has voted yes,” MP Olena Shuliak, head of Zelenskyy’s party, said in
a Facebook post.
“The draft
law opens the possibility for certain categories of prisoners who expressed a
desire to defend their country to join the Defence Forces,” she said
Mobilisation would be voluntary and open
only to certain categories of prisoners, she said. Only prisoners with under
three years left to serve on their sentence may apply, she said. Any prisoners
who are mobilised would be granted parole rather than a pardon.
Among those not eligible to serve include
those found guilty of sexual violence, killing two or more people, serious corruption,
and former high-ranking officials, Shuliak said.
Russia has recruited prisoners to serve on
the front lines since the first days of its invasion in February 2022,
initially offering presidential pardons for six months of service.
Ukraine recently toughened measures against
military service draft dodgers and lowered the age at which men can be drafted
from 27 to 25.
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