Ukrainians who are in jail and have combat experience will be released to fight on the front lines in the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced today in a speech carried on Telegram.
The prisoners will have their sentence commuted for paying a debt to society.
“Under martial law, Ukrainians with real combat experience will be released from custody and will be able to compensate for their guilt in the hottest spots of the conflict,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president, who has been in power since 2019, has been thinking of novel ways to shore up his military force, including initiating a foreign legion for men who want to fight.
He issued a statement Sunday urging foreigners to sign up for an “international brigade,” according to news reports.
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Back home, Zelensky apparently thought hard about whether to let the inmates out of jail, and it was a difficult choice.
“We have taken a decision which is not easy from the moral point of view, but which is useful from the point of view of our defenses,” he said. “The key is now defense.”
The general public, including children, have joined the war effort in scenes reminiscent of World War II. Many are not handling weapons but rather acting as a supply chain and building Molotov cocktails.
Zelensky said everyone who is able — including inmates — must “join the struggle against the invaders.”
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The prisoners will be fresh forces for soldiers who have fought for five days. The Armed Forces of Ukraine claims it has killed 4,500 Russians during the conflict and damaged or destroyed hundreds of armored vehicles, about 150 tanks, and dozens of assorted aircraft, boats, and weapons systems. Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported more than 1,000 Ukrainian military facilities have been destroyed.
