Like Russia, Ukraine is now recruiting soldiers from prisons
Live MintKYIV, Ukraine—In 2020, Vitaliy Yatsenko went to pick up a parcel containing illegal amphetamines from a Kyiv post office and was met by 10 policemen and detained. Russia never confirmed the total number of convicts it recruited but figures from the prison service show a reduction of more than 35,000 in the country’s total prison population between May 2022 and January 2023, the peak of Wagner’s recruitment. A senior official at Yatsenko’s prison said several convicts with more serious criminal records have been told their convictions bar them from serving, leaving them disappointed. Around six months ago Barandich was an army corporal serving around the town of Avdiivka, one of the front line’s most dangerous hot spots, when he was sentenced for a drug-dealing offense. Ukraine officials say its program takes on convicts of less serious crimes than Russia’s.
History of this topic
'Thrown on a bus and sent to hell': Videos show Ukrainian men being hauled off the streets by army recruiters as Zelensky attempts to bolster military ranks
Daily Mail
U.N. expert says Russian prisoners sent to fight in Ukraine committing crimes when they return
LA Times
Russia and Ukraine give up 95 prisoners of war each in their latest exchange
LA TimesUkraine expands its draft to prisoners to cope with battlefield shortages in its war against Russia
ABC
Murder rate among Russian soldiers returning from Ukraine surges
The IndependentTakeaways from the AP investigation into thousands of Ukrainian civilians held by Russia in prisons
Associated Press
Russia moves to legalise prisoners fighting in Ukraine war
Al Jazeera
Russian forces surrendering at fast pace to ‘save their lives’: Ukraine official
Hindustan Times
Lavrov: Ukraine must demilitarize or Russia will do it
Associated Press
Russian foreign minister says Ukraine must demilitarize or Russia will do it
LA Times
Russian prison population falls dramatically as convicts are sent to fight in Ukraine
The Telegraph
'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war
The Telegraph
Russia-Ukraine crisis updates | Russia accuses Ukraine of torturing prisoners of war
The Hindu
Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Russia says it has more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war
The Hindu
EXPLAINER: What might happen to 100s of Ukrainian POWs?
Associated Press
What might happen to Ukraine’s Azovstal prisoners of war?
Al Jazeera
War in Ukraine fuels fears among draft-age Russian youths
Associated Press
Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine voice disquiet, shame over war. ‘We all will be judged.’
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