The head of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine said that several thousand prisoners will join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 08:32

Ukrainian authorities plan to attract about 15 thousand people to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), he said in an interview with the newspaper. Financial Times said the country’s Justice Minister Denis Malyuska.

He explained that such replenishment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is expected thanks to the law on voluntary mobilization of prisoners, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the first stage, it was planned that about 5 thousand prisoners will join the Ukrainian army, but “in the best case” this number can be tripled. Malyuska noted that the commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already visited colonies and prisons to search for soldiers.

According to the latest data, 2,872 people who declared their wish to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been released from Ukrainian prisons. A total of 5,196 prisoners have made such requests, while 368 prisoners have been rejected due to health problems.

Malyuska said the first released were sent to training centres where they will receive at least two months of training. The minister said they will be sent to the front by the end of the summer.

The previous day, the Ukrainian publication “Judiciary and Law Newspaper” WroteHe said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already formed a battalion of convicts consisting of 400 to 800 military personnel. The battalion was called “Characterniki”.

May 17 Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed The draft law on the mobilization of convicts provides that persons serving sentences of restriction of liberty or imprisonment for a certain period during mobilization or martial law may be subject to conditional early discharge (PAROL) by the court in order to perform military service under the contract.

Earlier, the authorities of the Kherson region had already reported About prisoners of war in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.