Ukraine MPs take page from Wagner with bill mobilizing prisoners

KYIV — Ukraine's desperate hunt for troops has prompted 14 Ukrainian MPs to take a page from the Russian playbook and on Wednesday propose a bill that would allow prisoners to serve in the military.

There are thousands of convicts in Ukraine who want to join up, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska said during a Ukrainian national telethon last week. He said he saw nothing wrong in recruiting people who know how to kill if they can help eliminate the Russian invaders.

Ukrainian law does not currently allow prisoners to be drafted. However, at the beginning of the Russia's invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian government pardoned more than 300 prisoners who wanted to join the military. 

“I would say that that experience was more or less successful. Some of those convicts have become heroes and got medals. Others for some reason were found in the rear, but also did not cause much harm,” Malyuska said.

Malyuska said the draft law for prisoners will be considered promptly as he hasn't encountered any MPs opposed to the idea.

“Everybody understands we can use convicts. And the convicts expressed willingness to protect their country,” the minister said.

However, Ukrainian lawmakers still have to work through rules to control the prisoners. It's also unclear if those serving would have their sentences reduced.

 "Not all military commanders are ready to take convicts and prisoners to their units, but we will not and do not plan to impose such mobilized people on anyone. Most likely, these will be separate detachments," Malyuska said.

He added that only prisoners who have served most of their sentences and aren't considered a danger to the public would be allowed to sign up.

 "The military asked us to exclude from possible mobilization those who violated military discipline and committed crimes while performing military duty. Likewise, they do not want to see those who committed crimes against the state. Therefore, such categories will probably not be mobilized," he said.

Russia has been drafting convicts for more than two years, with warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin touring Russian prisons offering pardons if they joined his Wagner Group mercenary forces. After his failed uprising and later death, the Russian defense ministry created special battalions largely made up of prisoners called Storm-V and Storm-Z.

The Ukrainian bill is a sign of the country's desperation to recruit more troops to relieve exhausted and bloodied soldiers under constant Russian attack. It needs an estimated 500,000 new recruits to be able to rotate its forces and replenish losses.

Efforts to revamp the country's mobilization law are ongoing. Currently only men 27 and older are drafted, while the average age of Ukrainian soldiers is over 40. The Kyiv parliament is working on legislation to lower the mobilization age to 25, but the issue is politically toxic.

A first attempt to vote on the law failed due to human rights violations and corruption risks.