Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners apply to join the army to receive amnesty

Under an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities, the prisoners will have all remaining sentences, regardless of term, wiped out if they agree to serve in the army without leave until the conflict ends.

Ukraine's Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said 4,564 prisoners have applied to join the army so far. More than 1,700 have passed medical examinations and their applications have been approved by courts.

The department had previously expected a total of about 10,000 to 20,000 inmates to sign up. Mr. Maliuska hopes most inmates will serve at least two months.

Prisoners during a recruitment event at a prison complex in the Kiev region, Ukraine, May 30. Photo: Reuters

“I’ve been here for five years, only one more year and now I’m going to war,” said Mykola Rybalka, one of the Kiev inmates who signed up for the army after committing a crime of theft. Rybalka is one of 129 prisoners who have applied to join the army in a prison of 700, according to Ukraine’s Justice Ministry .

"In five years behind these walls, I have seen and understood a lot. I am no longer afraid of anything," Rybalka said.

Vitaliy Yatsenko, 23, who is serving a seven-year sentence for drug trafficking, said he had hoped to enlist at the start of the conflict, but he was not allowed to at the time.

Yatsenko has now applied to join the army. "First of all, I want to help my country, and I want society to understand that everyone can reform," he said.

Ukraine, with a population of about 38 million compared with Russia's 144 million, has struggled to recruit enough soldiers, especially to fight on the front lines, where Ukrainian forces are increasingly exhausted by the overwhelming might of the Russian army.

A new law was recently signed to mobilize hundreds of thousands of additional troops, although it could take months for a significant number of troops to be ready for battle.

Mr. Maliuska said military commanders are struggling to recruit prisoners into their ranks because of manpower shortages. They really want access to these prisoners.

Vladyslav, a representative of Brigade 5, said his brigade had recruited about 90 people from the prison and was recruiting more. Those joining his brigade would be placed in separate units for prisoners only and commanders would closely monitor them.

Meanwhile, the representative of the 3rd Brigade, Oleh Petrenko, said his brigade would treat the prisoners like ordinary soldiers.

Early in the war, the Wagner mercenary group recruited thousands of Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, offering full amnesty if they survived six months on the front.

Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hang-nghin-tu-nhan-ukraine-xin-nhap-ngu-de-duoc-an-xa-post297619.html