To increase troop numbers during the initial stages of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has approved legislation that would pardon criminals who volunteer to join Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The legislation formalizes the practice of recruiting prisoners and criminal suspects for the Ukrainian war, which was pioneered by the Wagner mercenary force last year before being taken over by the Russian Ministry of Defence in early 2023, according to a media report on Tuesday.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the State Duma noted that serious crimes such as treason, espionage, and acts of terrorism are among those that do not qualify for amnesties for participation in the fighting on the front lines in Ukraine.
“The validity of the document does not extend to those who have previously been convicted of terrorist and extremist acts, as well as offences against the sexual sanctity of minors,” according to a statement published on the Duma’s website.
Upon completion of military service, receipt of a state award for valor, being injured in combat, or reaching retirement age of 65, criminal records of those who join the Russian army will be erased if the legislation is passed into law.
If they agree to serve in Ukraine, suspected criminals are also given a reprieve.
“For suspected criminals who agree to take up arms, authorities can suspend criminal proceedings against them if they face up to five years in prison for premeditated crimes or up to 10 years for acts of negligence. The bill notes that crimes committed after the law takes effect will not be expunged,” the media reported.
The bills will then go through a single voting session in Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, and then Russian President Vladimir Putin is anticipated to sign them into law, reports say.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of the Wagner Group mercenary force, was already permitted to recruit criminally convicted individuals as mercenaries, promising them pardons if they survive six months of fighting in Ukraine, even done even before the legislation was passed.
Over the weekend, Prigozhin claimed that 32,000 of his Wagner mercenaries who were taken from prisons and recruited for the Ukrainian war had already returned home. The leader of the Wagner group claimed in May that the fight for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had claimed the lives of about 20,000 of his fighters.
Prigozhin has complained that his recruitment access to Russian prisons has been restricted due to the high-profile hostility between Wagner forces and Russia’s defense ministry.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, reported on Tuesday that Wagner forces are looking to enlist new fighters “in the wake of significant losses in Ukraine.”.
“Russian opposition outlet Verstka reported on June 19 that Wagner recruiters are disseminating messages on social media platforms calling for individuals aged 21 to 35 years old with a ‘gaming background’ to join Wagner as UAV specialists,” the ISW said.
“Verstka noted that these recruits are not required to have any military experience,” the institute said.
Russian troops are fiercely resisting from behind fortified positions and minefields, according to Ukrainian military officials, while Ukrainian forces are making steady, incremental advancements in the ongoing counteroffensive.
The campaign would not be a swift offensive with successes like in a “movie,” according to Hanna Maliar, deputy minister of defense of Ukraine, who stated on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces were making progress.
Source-Aljazeera
