(Dan Tri) – A Ukrainian minister called on the country to enlist people who have committed crimes or are serving prison sentences in the context that Kiev lacks resources to deal with Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers during an exercise (Photo: Reuters).
Ukrainian Justice Minister Denis Maluska believes that Kiev should not hesitate to let convicted criminals join the army.
He has served as justice minister since 2019 and has advocated sweeping reforms, including lifting the ban on ex-convicts joining the army and making them serve orders.
According to Mr. Maluska, most people in prison are also qualified to go to war.
According to him, some military commanders are interested in such subjects, because even violent criminals can be valuable in certain missions.
However, the official stance of the Ministry of Justice is to call for milder changes that are more likely to be approved by lawmakers.
According to him, a group of criminals who can be sent to the front line without hesitation are those convicted of corruption.
`They are often patriotic, but they are greedy people. Let’s be frank, our country has been facing corruption for many years,` he admitted.
According to him, with the current system, evading military service is easy and it can be exploited.
The Ukrainian Minister’s call comes in the context of the country repeatedly admitting that military recruitment is becoming difficult because of psychological fatigue due to war.
To maintain fighting power against an army with more overwhelming potential, the Ukrainian army late last year proposed recruiting an additional 500,000 troops, but admitted this was a sensitive issue.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization order immediately after the start of the conflict with Russia in February 2022.
However, Ukraine’s military recruitment campaign has faced a number of negative developments and draft evasion.
In recent times, Ukrainian officials have increased their efforts to find more recruits for the frontline forces, going directly to gyms, shopping centers, restaurants and public places to issue summons to all.
This measure is controversial because it is quite tough, but Ukraine believes this is necessary for them to maintain their ability to fight against Russia.