FALCON POWERS – Ukraine is working to expand its conscription efforts to overcome the severe shortage of manpower on the battlefield, more than two years into the war against the Russian invasion. Recruitment efforts have, for the first time, turned to prisoners in the country’s jails.
At one of the harsh detention centers in southeastern rural Ukraine, numerous convicted inmates stand together behind barbed wire as a military recruiter offers them a chance for conditional release – in exchange for joining the fierce fighting against Russia.
The recruiter, a member of a volunteer assault battalion, tells them: “You can put an end to this and start a new life. The main thing is your willingness, because you will be defending the motherland. You won’t succeed 50%, you have to give 100% of yourself, even 150%.”
While Ukraine does not announce details about deployed troop numbers or casualties, front-line commanders openly acknowledge they are facing serious manpower problems as Russia continues to amass forces in eastern Ukraine and make steady gains to the west.
Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska told the Associated Press that over 3,000 prisoners have already been released on parole and assigned to military units after the parliament approved this controversial conscription scheme last month. An estimated 27,000 inmates may be eligible for the new program, according to the Justice Ministry.
