KYIV -- The Ukrainian parliament has approved a bill that would allow some categories of prisoners to serve in the country’s armed forces as it defends itself against a full-scale Russian invasion.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted the law after its second reading on May 8 with 279 members of the 450-member parliament voting in favor.
The bill will require the signature of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has supported the idea.
The Russian military has also recruited in the country’s prisons for potential soldiers to serve in Ukraine in exchange for a release from their sentences. Reports have surfaced in Russia of returning former prisoners terrorizing residents of regional cities and committing major crimes.
Olena Shulyak, the head of Zelenskiy's party, said in a Facebook post that the "draft law opens the possibility for certain categories of prisoners who expressed a desire to defend their country to join the defense forces."
She said service would be voluntary and some prisoners would be excluded, including those convicted of certain offenses such as crimes against the foundations of Ukraine's national security, the intentional murder of two or more people, sexual violence, attempts to kill law enforcement officers, and particularly serious corruption violations.
Shulyak said it will also not apply to convicts who previously held a position of responsibility regardless of the crime they committed (e.g. ministers, deputies, their deputies and assistants, etc.).
More than two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has struggled to maintain its defenses in the face of shortages of manpower and ammunition.
Kyiv has pleaded with Western partners for additional deliveries of weapons but has not requested the deployment of foreign troops.
In April, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on military mobilization that looks to boost the number of its troops.
The law expands the powers of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notices, including through an electronic system, a change that is expected to help limit evasion.
A provision on the demobilization of those currently serving in the armed forces was scrapped from the law -- a move likely to be met with anger by Ukrainian troops and their families.
A provision also required all men between the ages of 18 and 60 to update their draft data with military conscription centers across the country.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Amid Mobilization Push, Ukrainian Fathers In Prague Choose Family Over Homeland
An unknown number of Ukrainian men fled the country after Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite Kyiv's move to ban men of conscription age from leaving the country.
In April, Ukraine also lowered the draft mobilization age from 27 to 25, with 60 being the maximum age.
Russia also imposed strict measures aimed at preventing avoidance of military service after thousands of young men fled the country in the early days following the invasion.