Ukraine considers conscripting prisoners into military amid war

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian parliament's website listed a proposal titled "Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, and other legislative acts of Ukraine, regarding conditional release from serving a sentence for military service under contract during a special period". Essentially, the proposal suggests amendments that would allow prisoners to gain conditional release by signing up for military service, although the full text of the proposal has yet to be disclosed.

The bill is championed by a group of lawmakers led by Olena Shulak, head of the Servant of the People party.

Ukraine aims to enlist roughly 500,000 individuals this year, intending to use 330,000 of them to rotate and support troops presently on the front lines. However, this proposed legislation, facilitating the conscription process, has stirred up considerable debate, as reported by the "Financial Times" on Wednesday.

The new mobilization bill, scheduled for a parliamentary vote on March 31, seeks to revise legal frameworks in light of this year's recruitment needs. Nevertheless, the "FT" points out that the bill is contentious, highlighted by the fact that it has attracted over four thousand amendments. A particularly contentious proposal is to lower the conscription age from 27 to 25 years—a move criticized by some lawmakers as "national suicide".

According to the parliamentary economic affairs committee, out of the 11.1 million Ukrainian men aged between 25 and 60, only about 3.7 million are deemed eligible for mobilization. The remainder are either already enlisted, medically ineligible for service, living abroad, or classified as essential workers.