Bandits, gang members and drug traffickers: Russia expands recruitment of convicts for war
Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has expanded the list of convicted criminals that Russian authorities will be able to recruit into the armed forces during mobilisation, martial law or wartime.
Source: Interfax, a Russian propaganda news agency; The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet
Details: Russian MPs passed the bill in its first reading and in full on 22 July.
From now on, individuals convicted of banditry, participation in an organised criminal group, drug trafficking, and organising illegal migration can sign contracts with Russia's Defence Ministry.
The list also now includes those convicted of illegally handling or stealing nuclear materials, smuggling weapons, ammunition, or explosive, radioactive or pathogenic substances, and losing documents containing state secrets.
The State Duma also passed amendments to Russia's Criminal Code providing for such individuals to be exempted from criminal liability upon signing a contract or completing military service.
According to The Moscow Times, the Russian government submitted the package of bills to the State Duma only a few days before the vote.
Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma's defence committee, claimed that convicts should be "given a chance to wash away their shame with blood". According to him, they may be sent to assault units.
He also said such recruits will go through "a certain filter" and admitted that "not all of them will come back".
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Viktor Goremykin said the expanded list will enable the Russian armed forces to "increase the pool of potential candidates".
He said the recruits will be placed in separate units and kept apart from contract soldiers who have no criminal record.
The Moscow Times links the Russian authorities' decision to the slowdown in recruitment of contract soldiers and the heavy losses sustained by the Russian army in its war against Ukraine.
Background:
- CNN reported earlier that Russia is increasingly struggling to replenish its forces for the war against Ukraine, which could drive its leadership to consider unpopular measures such as forced mobilisation and exit bans.
- In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's regime had been tasked with increasing the contingent of Russian forces, which shows that Moscow has no real intention of engaging in peace talks.
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