Expert thought

Mobilization of prisoners: experts’ opinions differ

On May 8, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the mobilization of convicted persons, according to which their recruitment to the Armed Forces will be carried out on a voluntary basis and in exchange for amnesty, provided that the remainder of their prison term does not exceed three years. At the same time, the law does not apply to those convicted of particularly serious crimes – intentional murder, terrorism, rape, sexual violence, crimes against the foundations of national security.

Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska noted that these Ukrainian volunteers in exchange for amnesty can only join assault battalions, that is, directly participate in battles. He also believes that convicts will undergo military service in units composed entirely of ex-convicts under the command of ordinary officers.

“The motivation of our prisoners is stronger than that of our ordinary soldiers. Release from prison is only part of the motive, they want to protect their country and turn the old page of life.” – said Malyuska.

In addition, Malyuska emphasized that the law on the mobilization of convicts allows women prisoners to join the ranks of the Armed Forces, but there are no such cases yet. At the same time, more than 2,750 male prisoners have already been released from Ukrainian prisons to serve in the army. Currently, the Minister of Justice expects to replenish the ranks of the Armed Forces by at least 4,000 people in the first wave of prisoner mobilization, but he previously reported the possibility of involving up to 10,000-20,000 prisoners.

So, as we can see, there are still not many people willing to fight among the prisoners. It is not clear how the military commanders will supervise the actions of the convicts, who will look after them in hospitals in case of injury, whether the military will want to be near the criminals, what the consequences will be from their mobilization. To get answers to these questions, we suggest getting acquainted with the point of view of law enforcement and military specialists.

Ihor Repeshko, the former head of the Kharkiv Regional Police Department, said in a comment to “FAKT” IA:

“The history of recruiting persons who have committed crimes to participate in hostilities is not new. Almost all ancient civilizations used it. But I think that the most important thing in this situation is what conclusions the authorities made from the results of this, let’s say, experiment. There is a well-known case that happened three millennia ago in the Chinese Empire, when the authorities ordered slaves and all criminals locked up in prisons to be armed in order to replenish their army. Judging by everything, the authorities counted on the fact that they, filled with gratitude, “will not spare their lives.” It all ended tragically – having reached the enemy, they turned around and joined the enemy. The Chinese know how to draw conclusions from history – the following emperors and princes were convinced that everything should go according to plan: prisoners sit in prisons, soldiers fight on the battlefield.

Well, this is power… Outstanding commanders in history also understood that the strength of the army largely depends on the fighting spirit of the soldiers and the ability to fearlessly entrust their lives to their comrades in arms. In this situation, feeling “elbow” with a convicted criminal was and remains a questionable matter.

Probably, Hitler’s and Stalin’s free kicks are considered relatively “successful”. By the way, in this case, the legislator of “fashion” was the Chinese. It is said that often before a decisive battle they put criminals sentenced to death in the front ranks of their army. And those with a loud roar rushed towards the enemy and all as one cut their throats right in front of the enemy soldiers in order to frighten them in this way.

Why do you think no one tried to dodge? It’s simple – the government has taken all their families hostage. All this worked in the penal clubs of Germany and the USSR. However, add blocking battalions behind them.

Agree that arming “prisoners” is a rather pointless activity if you are going to fight not with numbers, but with skill. By the way, here is an example from history, but very similar to our present. During the Napoleonic Wars, there was a shortage of sailors in the British fleet. To solve this problem, gangs, well, let’s say, military commissars, who used any means to mobilize all able-bodied men, prowled around the country. There were two ways to escape from them: to give a bribe or to join their ranks.

In order to facilitate the implementation of tasks, relevant laws were adopted. Well, it began – rowing everyone in a row! Of course, attacks on recruiters also began. The attackers were caught, convicted and sent to serve … It is believed that in the British Army, criminals made up about a fifth. Where the army passed, uprisings of the local population often arose – robberies and violence in these territories increased several times. During the First World War, it was also the case – convicts were allowed early release on the condition of joining the army.

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Частина суспільства обурена тим, що мобілізують тих, хто не має ресурсів чи зв’язків, тоді як представники політичної еліти, бізнесу, шоу-бізнесу та медійної сфери залишаються поза цим процесом. Як наслідок, виникає враження несправедливості, яке підриває бойовий дух тих, хто вже перебуває на фронті, і демотивує потенційних новобранців. У відповідь на суспільне невдоволення у Верховній Раді зареєстровано законопроєкт, який передбачає кримінальну відповідальність для працівників ТЦК та ВЛК за порушення правил мобілізації. Законопроєкт про відповідальність працівників ТЦК: що зміниться? 27 січня на сайті парламенту з’явився законопроєкт №12442, який передбачає покарання для посадовців ТЦК та військово-лікарських комісій за незаконний призов, корупцію, фальсифікацію медичних документів та інші зловживання владою. Один з ініціаторів законопроєкту, народний депутат від "Слуги народу" Олександр Качура, пояснив, що цей документ має покласти край хаотичній "бусифікації" українців, коли людей насильно затримують на вулицях, застосовують до них фізичну силу та навіть викрадають. Він наголосив, що така мобілізація не має нічого спільного з законом та лише руйнує довіру до державних інституцій. Нардеп також нагадав, що президент Володимир Зеленський раніше заявляв про необхідність законодавчого врегулювання дій працівників ТЦК, щоб унеможливити випадки силового призову на вулицях. "Разом із колегами ініціював законопроєкт, який покладе край агресивній "бусифікації" українців! Побиття, використання газу, викрадення людей на вулицях — це не мобілізація, а хаос, який руйнує довіру до держави. Зрозуміло, що мобілізація під час повномасштабної війни потрібна. Але вона має бути справедливою! Я особисто допомагав з рекрутингом бійцям 3-ї штурмової. Вони цим дійсно якісно займаються. Ми разом їздили по в’язницях, пропонували вмотивованим людям доєднатись до лав ЗСУ. Силою нікого не тягнули! Президент України Володимир Зеленський говорив, що потрібен законопроєкт, щоб у ТЦК не було шансів ходити по вулицях та ловити людей. І ми це намагаємось зробити. Колеги напрацювали таку пропозицію. Що пропонує законопроєкт? До 8 років ув’язнення для посадовців ТЦК та ВЛК за незаконний призов або звільнення з армії, фальсифікацію медоглядів та зловживання владою. Також, посилюється відповідальність за корупцію серед військових медиків. На мою думку, комплектування армії має бути справою цивільних чи самих бригад, а не людей, які влаштовують полювання на українців!", - заявив Качура. Жорін: мобілізація повинна стосуватися всіх Крім того, щодо несправедливої мобілізації висловився заступник командира 3-ї окремої штурмової бригади ЗСУ Максим Жорін. За його словами, проблема полягає не лише у порушеннях з боку ТЦК, а й у тому, що мобілізація не є справедливою для всіх категорій населення. Жорін наголошує, що воювати мають не лише вмотивовані добровольці та ті, хто не зміг "купити" бронь. Військовий наголошує, що представники всіх соціальних прошарків, включно з дітьми політиків, чиновників, відомими блогерами та представниками шоу-бізнесу, мають нести рівну відповідальність перед державою. "В такій великій війні, коли важливе залучення всього населення, воювати мають не лише вмотивовані добровольці й ті, хто не зміг купити бронь. Воювати мають представники всіх категорій суспільства. В тому числі діти політиків, чиновників, блогери та активісти, представники шоу-бізнесу. Люди не ідіоти, і бачать, як в житті так званої "еліти" нічого не змінилось. Відповідно і мотивувати їх іти у військо досить складно. Звісно, ті, хто живуть в парадигмі "хай діти депутатів воюють" знайдуть ще сотні відмазок для свого боягузтва та байдужості. Проте це не відміняє необхідності прибрати категорію українців, чомусь не створених для армії. Мовчу вже про часи та війни, коли честь і гідність були важливими цінностями, а неучасть у війні для еліт вважалась зашкваром", - наголосив Жорін. Проблеми мобілізації, які сьогодні турбують українське суспільство, є наслідком недосконалої системи та відсутності справедливості. Прийняття нового законопроєкту може частково вирішити питання незаконних дій працівників ТЦК, але воно не змінить головного — нерівності між громадянами. Мобілізація під час війни має бути організованим процесом, що базується на чітких законах, рівності та прозорості. Тільки так можна зберегти довіру громадян до держави та забезпечити справедливий захист країни.

It should be understood that for the state, the recruitment of criminals also brings benefits: recruitment reduces the costs of incarceration of convicts, simultaneous removal of undesirable elements from society reduces the burden on the police. Some criminals may come from the front as completely different people. But there were also those who returned to their old way of life after the war. Moreover, more prepared and more embittered. Add to this the habit of obedience and the “hierarchy of thieves”, resulting in gangs with well-trained members and strict discipline.

As a conclusion, war is definitely not a panacea for social rehabilitation. And most importantly, why put weapons in the hands of someone who, almost certainly, is not enthusiastic about the offer to participate in the war. This option is possible only in one case – to plug a momentary hole or how to use these persons, as it is now fashionable to say, for a “meat assault”. Be that as it may, it is difficult to argue with the fact that the state of the army generally reflects the state of the country. As the British historian Tony Judt said: “The military system of a nation is not an independent part of the social system, but an aspect of its integrity.”

Dmytro Kukharchuk, commander of the 2nd assault battalion of the 3rd OShBr in an interview with “Army TV”, he said that the soldiers at the front are waiting for replenishment, including from among the mobilized convicts, because there is a critical shortage of personnel. At the same time, to create separate units from mobilized prisoners, in his opinion, is wrong from various points of view.

“In our case, these will be people who will be integrated into units. That is, I am going to give 1-2 people to each of my platoons in each department. That is, they will be distributed.

If separate units are formed from mobilized prisoners, then this is a “penalty”. And this is a very bad story. The consequences will be such that, firstly, it will discourage other prisoners from continuing to mobilize. And do we want a one-time story or on a permanent basis? If this is a one-time story, then it is just an analogue of StormZ and is no different from it. The problem is that, if someone suddenly has such a concept and wants to implement it, then it is necessary to remember that in Russian prisons before the story with “Wagner” and StormZ there were about 700 thousand people, in Ukrainian – 30 thousand. Therefore, it is unrealistic to implement these stories the way they do, precisely with “meat assaults”… The second consequence is that it will have a very negative image in the international arena.

Mobilized prisoners should not be more than 20% of the total number of personnel. We are a volunteer unit. And we were given part of the mobilized people during the formation of the brigade… The questions began: What will it be? And how will they fight? How will we fight with the mobilized? But the truth turned out to be that the percentage of mobilized that was given to us – it was no more than 20% of the total number of personnel – integrated into the unit and showed itself well. People understood that they were accepted into the family, felt like a part of the family and in many cases showed themselves no worse, and sometimes better, than volunteers. As a result, this boundary was blurred. If it was 50% on 50% – there could be problems, I’m sure there would be. Therefore, the main question is to calculate the necessary percentage. I think that it should be no more than 20%, ideally 15% of prisoners among volunteers, as well as mobilized volunteers.”

The commander of the UBpAK “Achilles” battalion of the 92nd OSHBr named after Yury Fedorenko, head coach of Ivan Sirko believes that the mobilization of convicts is actually a good idea. Each of the prisoners could end up behind bars under different circumstances, so the state must define the category of prisoners who do not pose a threat to other military personnel.

“At the beginning of the full-scale war, we started our journey with a rifle company, this is territorial defense. My second platoon was 90% staffed by people who were deprived of their liberty on the territory of Ukraine, served their sentence and returned to a normal life.” – thinks Fedorenko.

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Military officer, former police officer, Denys Yaroslavskyi Facebook expressed its position on its page:

“When I spoke about the possibility of engaging in military operations those released from the UDF, I weighed all the arguments for and against. 17 years of service in law enforcement agencies, including the line of criminal investigation. During this time, I saw a lot of scumbags, some of which not only could not be released, but also had to be knocked down quietly when detained!

But the war came to our homes and made its adjustments. To be honest, opinions in the army differ on this matter. Many are convinced that those who are serving time should get an attempt to atone for their guilt before society – there is some truth in this. In addition, PVK “Wagner” showed its effectiveness at the front. Some soldiers are categorically against serving together with Z/K, the main reason for this is the reluctance of mobilized (especially voluntary) and personnel soldiers to join ranks with criminals previously convicted of robberies, robberies and thefts. This position can also be understood!

The Defense Forces of Ukraine are the best sons and daughters of the country, and it is unacceptable to put them in the same row as criminals who are serving their sentences. The dilemma is difficult, but it is necessary to solve it. Pay attention to how our enemy solved it! Their army is divided into castes:

  1. Personnel military;
  2. Mobilized;
  3. DPR/LPR (Russian personnel consider these defectors to be second-rate raw materials);
  4. Z/K (who were recruited for this very purpose as a separate body in the form of the PMK, which are not even combatants. And let me remind you how many internal conflicts arose between them until the capture of the staff commander of the 72nd motorized rifle brigade of the Russian army by the Wagners).

In the third year of the war, experiencing a real shortage of personnel, and not being able to consolidate society, we approached what the enemy used at the very beginning! On May 8, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on the Voluntary Mobilization of Prisoners … They decided to call the analogue of the Soviet penalty batons “specialized units”, after studying the main tasks of which, I realized that they would not differ much from the tasks of the penalty batons of the 1941-45 model. Well, maybe from the tasks of the same PVK “Wagner”.

Personally, I’m not against giving people a second chance, but if you already had to borrow the experience of the enemy, then why not create these specials. father separately? Why did they start appointing those released from custody to the combined arms brigades? I consider it fundamentally wrong!

Create mouths and bats. of the prisoners, putting them on the same page as the mobilized policemen, firefighters, IT officers, teachers, doctors and other volunteer military personnel who have been protecting the country since the first days of the war means the inevitable creation of an internal conflict! But this is not the whole point of the problem! What one of the brigades sent me is beyond my head at all!

Extract from the report:

“During the professional and psychological selection of the personnel who arrived in the number of 90 servicemen who were conditionally released early, the following were found:

– 11 servicemen have HIV disease;

– 18 servicemen have hepatitis B, C;

– 15 servicemen have tuberculosis;

– 6 servicemen are recommended to be included in the DPPU units based on the results of an individual interview and study (they were undergoing long-term treatment in a psycho-neurological institution before signing the contract)…

Why turn the army, which is respected all over the world, into a penal colony? It shouldn’t be like that! And more! If the authorities have already decided to release convicts (that is, persons whose guilt has been proven by the court), then why not give a chance to those who are in pretrial detention centers? Whose guilt is not only not proven, but who can be acquitted by the court at all! Since the beginning of the war, many boys detained in pretrial detention centers have had their preventive measures changed, and within two years, most of them have shown themselves heroically! Many died as heroes… I am sure that by giving the opportunity to return to order, such as Colonel Chervinskyi, whose guilt has not been proven and is unlikely to be proven, the army will only win.”

 

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