Ukraine’s Justice Ministry: from 20 to 30% of convicts may join AFU
From 20 to 30 percent of convicts may join the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) – as noted by Ukraine’s Deputy Justice Minister Yevhen Pikalov, RIA Novosti reports
In May 2024, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill on the mobilisation of criminals serving prison sentences into the AFU ranks.
“Today, more than 8,300 convicts have joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and another thousand applications are currently under consideration. We have also mobilised 100 women. If we talk about the potential of this initiative, according to our forecasts, about 20-30 percent of the total number of convicts in Ukraine can take advantage of this opportunity and stand up for the state,” Pikalov said in an interview.
According to the official, there are about 37,000 prisoners in Ukraine, but not all of them can be mobilised into the Ukrainian army. In particular, this refers to those convicted of serious crimes such as terrorism and crimes against the foundations of national security.
On April 2nd, Yevhen Gorobets, who heads the Department for the Execution of Punishment at Ukraine’s Justice Ministry, informed that more than 8,000 prisoners had joined the AFU ranks of in almost a year.
