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Ukrainian soldiers are facing a formidable Russian army that is constantly sending tens of thousands more soldiers to the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defense is in desperate need of more soldiers.
The authorities in Kyiv claim that around 300,000 Ukrainians are participating in the war now, and that the need is a further 500,000.
Prisoners to the front
Now the politicians are proposing that prisoners should be sent to the war on a voluntary basis. They can choose between a life behind the walls or in the trenches.
After a majority in parliament voted in favor of the proposal on Wednesday, only the president’s signature remains, writes AFP.
Prisoners in Ukraine will have to choose whether they want to sit behind bars or fight at the front. The picture shows an inmate in the Lukyanivka prison in Kyiv on July 12, 2016.
Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
– Parliament has voted yes on voluntary mobilization for prisoners, says Olena Shuliak who is party leader of the ruling party in Ukraine.
– The draft new law gives a group of prisoners who have a desire to defend the country, the opportunity to do so.
Serial killers still behind bars
Not all prisoners will be offered to become soldiers, writes AFP. This applies to sex offenders, men who have been caught for serious corruption and people who have killed two or more people.
Only prisoners who have less than three years left on their sentence can apply, says Olena Shuliak in the ruling party.
The organization Protection for Prioners, which has wanted this opportunity, is nevertheless disappointed.
– We support the idea, but we fear discrimination, says Oleg Tsvily, who heads the organization’s department in Ukraine.
Fear of becoming “cannon fodder”
He refers to the experience from Russia where prisoners were placed in their own departments and sent to the front as “cannon fodder”.
The new law comes because Ukraine desperately needs more soldiers.
The vote in parliament comes just three weeks after the same politicians introduced an order that applies to all men between the ages of 18 and 60.
They are obliged to carry a document showing that they are registered at one of the recruitment offices. The document must be able to be shown to the police when requested, writes Associated Press.
Criticism of previous proposals
In January, the Ukrainian government presented a 72-page bill to ensure mobilization.
The proposal led to great debate and strong criticism against President Zelenskyi’s government.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy needs more soldiers. He was criticized for previous proposals to punish men who evade mobilization.
Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP
The criticism was so strong that it had to withdraw the proposal.
In the first proposal, it was advocated that those who refuse should lose the right to drive a car and not be allowed to take out a loan.
The proposal also meant that men with certain mild disabilities could be mobilised.
But the government believes that Ukraine must resort to strong measures to ensure that the country is able to defend itself in the war against Russia.
Among other things, there is broad agreement that the age for being called up will be lowered from 27 to 25 years. Until now, men under 27 have been able to volunteer for service, but not be mobilized against their will.
Tired after two years of war
When Russia launched a full-scale attack two years ago, the Russian forces met a far tougher resistance than expected.
Outside the offices where soldiers signed up for war effort, there were long queues in several Ukrainian cities. Young and well-grown men as well as a good number of women signed up for war effort.
The Ukrainians radiated patriotism and eagerness to defend their country.
Now the situation is completely different.
In the trenches along the 1000 kilometer long front, there are thousands of exhausted soldiers.
A tired Ukrainian soldier takes a breather on the ground. The photo was taken near the front near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk County in eastern Ukraine on April 3.
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY / AFP
They long for a break and to finally see their families again.
– We were knocked down in our boots
Russian forces have had the upper hand in recent weeks and months.
In the trenches along the 1000 kilometer long front, there are thousands of exhausted soldiers.
They long for a break and to finally see their families again.
The Ukrainian soldier Dima said in March that when Russian soldiers stormed the position where his unit was, they had to flee.
– We were knocked down in our boots, says the soldier to the Associated Press news agency.
Soldiers in Ukraine may gain more colleagues when prisoners can choose whether to contribute to the war. The picture shows a group of infantrymen in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on 3 April.
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY / AFP
Only he and two others in the department survived, he says.
He says that for every Ukrainian they faced five Russian soldiers.
Many do not want war
A number of Ukrainian men who should have signed up for war efforts are hiding.
This is confirmed by men who stay in hiding to avoid being sent to war to The Guardian and the Associated Press.
One of them is 42-year-old Andrii. Like the aforementioned Dima, he will not give his last name. The man is hiding in his home on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv.
He is troubled by a guilty conscience.
– I feel ashamed as a man in a way… I don’t feel free, Andrii tells the Associated Press news agency.
Many do not want to go to war for fear of becoming part of the statistics of soldiers who do not survive the war. The photo shows a cemetery in the village of Groza near Kharkiv on April 3.
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY / AFP
In Ukraine, it is forbidden for men under the age of 60 to leave the country.
The Associated Press writes that several tens of thousands of Ukrainian men at home and abroad are not signing up for war effort.
Paying to drop
It caused a stir when President Zelenskyj last year sacked all managers of local recruiting offices.
The reason was suspicion of corruption.
It turns out that many men have paid under the table to avoid being sent to war.
– Everyone understands that the system is not fair, says member of parliament Volodomyr Ivchenko.
He refers to the fact that men from poor backgrounds in the countryside are sent to the war, while many from resourceful families in the big cities have escaped.
The average age of a combat soldier is 40 years.
Speaking out loud about not wanting to go to war is not easy in a country that is crying out for new soldiers.
Published 08.05.2024, at 21.29
