Ukrainian prisoners can choose between fighting or sitting inside – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

Ukrainian soldiers face a massive Russian army that is constantly sending tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian defense is in dire need of more soldiers.

The authorities in Kiev claim that about 300,000 Ukrainians are now participating in the war, and that 500,000 more are needed.

Prisoners forward

Now politicians are proposing to send prisoners to war on a voluntary basis. They can choose between life behind walls or in trenches.

After the majority in Parliament voted in favor of the proposal on Wednesday, all that remained was the president's signature, Agence France-Presse wrote.

– Parliament voted yes to the voluntary mobilization of prisoners, says Olena Shulyak, leader of the ruling party of Ukraine.

The new draft law gives a group of prisoners who have the desire to defend the homeland the opportunity to do so.

Serial killers are still behind bars

Not all prisoners will be offered to become soldiers, AFP wrote. This applies to sex offenders, men arrested for serious corruption, and people who have killed two or more people.

Prisoners with less than three years remaining on their sentence can apply, says Olena Shulyak of the ruling party.

However, the Prisoner Protection Organization, which wanted this opportunity, is disappointed.

– We support the idea, but we fear discrimination, says Oleg Tsvili, who heads the organization's department in Ukraine.

Fear of becoming “cannon fodder”

He points to Russia's experience where prisoners were placed in their own sections and sent to the front as “cannon fodder.”

The new law comes because Ukraine urgently 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 required to carry a document proving their registration in one of the recruitment offices. The document should be able to be shown to police upon request, he writes News agency.

Criticism of previous proposals

In January, the Ukrainian government presented a 72-page draft law to ensure mobilization.

The proposal led to great debate and strong criticism of President Zelensky's government.

The criticism was so strong that she 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 obtain a loan.

The proposal also means that men with certain mild disabilities could be mobilized.

But the government believes that Ukraine must resort to strong measures to ensure the country's ability to defend itself in the war against Russia.

Among other things, there is broad agreement that the call-up age will be lowered from 27 to 25 years. Until now, men under the age of 27 have been able to volunteer for service, but they cannot be mobilized against their will.

Tired after two years of war

When Russia launched a large-scale attack two years ago, Russian forces faced much tougher resistance than expected.

Outside offices where soldiers registered to participate in the war effort, there were long lines in many Ukrainian cities. Youth and adults, as well as a large number of women, participated in the war effort.

Ukrainians radiated patriotism and eagerness to defend their country.

Now the situation is completely different.

In the trenches extending 1,000 kilometers along the front, there are thousands of exhausted soldiers.

They long for a break and finally see their families again.

– We were beaten in shoes

Russian forces have had the upper hand in recent weeks and months.

Ukrainian soldier Dima said in March that when Russian soldiers stormed the site where his unit was located, they were forced to flee.

“We fell in our shoes,” the soldier told the Associated Press.

He says that he and two others in the department survived.

Then he said that for every Ukrainian, they faced five Russian soldiers.

Many do not want war

A number of Ukrainian men who should have been involved in the war effort are in hiding.

This was confirmed by the men who remained in hiding to avoid being sent to war to The Guardian and The Associated Press.

One of them is Andrey, he is 42 years old. Like the aforementioned Dima, his last name will not be given. The man is hiding in his house on the outskirts of the capital, Kiev.

He is troubled by a guilty conscience.

– I feel ashamed as a man in a way… I don't feel free, Andrei told the Associated Press news agency.

In Ukraine, men under the age of 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.

The Associated Press wrote that tens of thousands of Ukrainian men at home and abroad did not participate in the war effort.

Push to drop

The matter caused an uproar when President Zelenskyy last year fired all the directors of local employment offices.

The reason was suspicions of corruption.

It turns out that many men paid under the table to avoid being sent to war.

– Everyone understands that the system is unfair, says Member of Parliament Volodymyr Ivchenko.

He points to the fact that men from poor backgrounds in the countryside are sent to war, while many resource-rich families in the big cities have fled.

The average lifespan of a combat soldier is 40 years.

Speaking out loud about not wanting to go to war is not easy in a country screaming for new soldiers.