DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine — In a rural penal colony in southeastern Ukraine, several prisoners gather under barbed wire to listen to an army recruiter offer them a chance at parole. In exchange, they must join the grueling fight against Russia.
“You can end 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 country. You won’t get it 50%, you have to give 100% of yourself, even 150%.”
Ukraine is expanding the draft to address severe shortages on the battlefield after more than two years of fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion. And his recruiting efforts have been directed, for the first time, to the country’s prison population.
Although Ukraine is not announcing any details on the number of troops deployed or casualties, frontline commanders openly acknowledge that they face serious manpower problems as Russia continues to build up forces in eastern Ukraine and make incremental advances toward the west.
More than 3,000 prisoners have already been paroled and assigned to military units after parliament approved such recruitment in a controversial mobilization bill last month, Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska told The Associated Press.
Some 27,000 inmates could potentially be eligible for the new program, according to Justice Ministry estimates.
“A lot of the motivation comes from (the inmates’) desire to return home as heroes and not to return 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 the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. He works in the kitchen, spooning food into tin bowls.
“It’s stupid to sit here and do nothing,” Volvach said, adding that since the beginning of the war he wanted to “do something for Ukraine” and have the opportunity to enlist. “Now it has appeared.”
Ukrainian soldiers on active duty are typically identified only by their name or a call sign, for security reasons. Many of the inmates at the Dnipropetrovsk penal colony also asked to be identified only by their first name to avoid difficulties if they enlist.
Another inmate, 30 years old, who identified himself only as Volodymyr, makes rivets in a workshop in a penal colony. He said he plans to volunteer after he finishes his sentence in a year, but that he wouldn’t do it now because there are effectively no home leave under the parole program.
Inmates can be released on parole after an interview, a medical examination and a review of their sentence. Those convicted of rape, sexual assault, murder of two or more people or crimes against the national security of Ukraine are not eligible.
Ukrainian officials are keen to draw a distinction between their program and Russia’s recruitment of convicts to serve in the notorious Wagner mercenary group. Those fighters have typically been funneled into the deadliest battles, officials say, but the Ukrainian program aims to integrate inmates into regular Ukrainian front-line units.
The country has a prison population of about 42,000 people, according to figures sent by the government to the European Union.
While recent reforms have reduced prisoner numbers and are credited with improving conditions in some facilities, the US State Department highlighted credible reports of “degrading treatment or punishment” by prison authorities in its report last year’s annual human rights report.
After evaluation, parolees are rushed to basic training in camps where they learn weapons handling and other combat fundamentals. Training is completed later once they join individual units.
Parolee Mykhailo joined an assault course and said it was difficult to keep up with the physical demands after months of relative inactivity in prison: getting in and out of armed personnel carriers and racing through races of obstacles.
“I decided to enlist in the Ukrainian Volunteer Army because I have a family at home, children, parents,” the 29-year-old said, speaking over the noise of gunshots at a shooting range. “I will be more useful in the war.”
Vysotska, deputy justice minister, said interest in the military parole program has exceeded initial expectations and could provide up to 5,000 new recruits. “That would definitely help,” he said.
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Gatopoulos reported from Kyiv. Volodymyr Yurchuk in the Dnipropetrovsk region and Dmytro Zhyhinas in kyiv contributed to this report.
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