Join the fight against Russia

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 join the bitter fight against Russia.

“You can put an end to 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 don’t succeed with 50%, you have to give 100%, or even 150%.

Ukraine is expanding its recruitment program to address battlefield personnel shortages, more than two years after the start of hostilities against the full-scale Russian invasion. And its recruiting efforts have turned, for the first time, to the country’s prison population.

Although Ukraine does not announce any details on the number of troops deployed or losses, front-line commanders openly acknowledge that they are facing serious troop problems as Russia continues to build up its forces in eastern Ukraine and make gradual gains westward.

More than 3,000 prisoners have already been conditionally released and assigned to military units after such recruitment was approved by parliament in a controversial mobilization bill last month, Ukraine’s deputy justice minister said , Olena Vysotska, to the Associated Press.

About 27,000 inmates could potentially be eligible for the new program, according to Justice Department estimates.

“A lot of the motivation comes from the fact that (inmates) want to go home as heroes, not come back 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 get involved. “Now it’s possible. »

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 can be released on parole after an interview, medical examination and review of their conviction. Persons convicted of rape, sexual assault, murder of two or more people or crimes against the national security of Ukraine are not entitled to it.

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.

Although recent reforms have reduced the number of prisoners and improved conditions in some facilities, the US State Department has noted credible reports of “degrading treatment or punishment” by authorities. prisons in its annual human rights report last year.

After being selected, paroled inmates are immediately sent to camps for basic training where they learn how to use weapons and master other combat techniques. The training is completed later, once they have joined the different units.

Parolee Mykhailo took part in an assault 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,” the 29-year-old said, speaking over the sound of gunfire on a shooting range. “I will be more useful in the war.”

Vysotska, deputy justice minister, said interest in the military parole program had exceeded initial expectations and that it could bring in up to 5,000 new recruits. “It 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