From 20% to 30% of convicts in Ukraine may be mobilised into the Armed Forces. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Justice Yevhen Pikalov in an interview with Ukrinform. According to him, more than 8,300 people who have served their sentences have already joined the army, and about 1,000 more applications are under consideration. There are 100 women among those mobilised.
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Pikalov noted that this initiative, in addition to strengthening defence capabilities, also serves as a re-socialisation measure, as it allows convicts to demonstrate civic responsibility. The Ministry of Justice and the State Penitentiary Service ensure control and transparency of the process.
In total, there are about 37,000 convicted and detained persons in Ukraine. However, not all of them can be mobilised. Some of them do not meet the criteria for health reasons or for the articles under which they were convicted. These include crimes related to terrorism, corruption, sexual offences and crimes against national security.
Most of the convicts are people sentenced for property crimes (57%) and drug trafficking (11%).
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