The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) has approved a law allowing some categories of prisoners serving sentences for common crimes to join the ranks of the army, Olena Shulyak, head of the parliamentary group of the Servant of the People party, reported. President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The law stipulates that prisoners’ prison terms will be shortened if they sign a contract with the army. Those convicted of sex crimes or multiple murders cannot benefit from this measure, nor can officials imprisoned for corruption or those who committed crimes against Ukraine’s security, according to Shulyak.
Detainees may not be recruited except on their own initiative. He explained that its mobilization must be approved by the courts.
The MP added that conscripted convicts will only serve in specific units of the army and their behavior will be permanently monitored.
Ukraine needs to mobilize more forces to continue confronting the large-scale Russian invasion. The Russian army has a clear numerical superiority over Ukraine in terms of human resources.
Russia seizes two more cities in eastern Ukraine
For its part, Russian forces took control of two other towns in eastern Ukraine during the past 24 hours, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The units of the Western Group said in a military statement posted on Telegram that the units of the Western Group completely liberated the village of Kislevka in the Kharkiv region. Kislevka is located about five kilometers from the borders of the Luhansk region, which Russia annexed in September 2022.
According to the statement, the Russian army also took control of the village of Novokalinov, located about 20 kilometers north of the city of Donetsk, the capital of the region that Moscow also annexed.
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