As of the beginning of April, more than 8,000 people who had previously served sentences joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. About 900 more applications are currently under consideration. About this reported Head of the Department for Execution of Sentences of the Ministry of Justice Yevhen Horobets.
According to the official, the first groups of volunteers from among those released from penal institutions were sent to combat units as early as August 2024. Today, more than 8,000 men and women, who were previously convicted, are serving in combat units. About 900 people are waiting for a decision on their applications. Many of them have already been awarded departmental and state awards for their heroism.
Most often, paroled fighters end up in such units as the 1st Separate Assault Battalion “Da Vinci”, 225th Separate Assault Regiment, 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, 93rd Mechanized Brigade “Kholodny Yar”, 95th Separate Assault Brigade, Third assault brigade, as well as other special units of the Security and Defense Forces.
As Horobets noted, this program gives people a second chance — an opportunity not only to atone for their guilt, but also to prove their loyalty to Ukraine on the battlefield.
“We regularly interact with the command of the units where ex-convicts and prisoners are currently serving. This dialogue allows us to receive up-to-date information about the needs of the front – what skills, specializations and competencies are currently in demand. On the other hand, we learn: how long the training of our parolees will last, what positions they will serve in, and how they are treated. This is very necessary information during recruitment in institutions, so that prisoners consciously make the decision to become soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. – explained Sparrow.
We will remind you that on May 17, 2024, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law that allows voluntary mobilization into the Armed Forces for certain categories of prisoners.
