Prisoners convicted of particularly serious crimes are not eligible to join Armed Forces – Penitentiary Service
Not all inmates can be conditionally released to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian legislation.
This was stated by Dmytro Andriiev, a representative of Ukraine’s State Penitentiary Service, as reported by Censor.NET with reference to Ukrinform.
"Former convicts serving in the Armed Forces are, according to their commanders, highly motivated, courageous, and dedicated. The vast majority have received departmental or state awards. The moral and legal frameworks of our servicemembers are fundamentally different. The law clearly outlines the categories of individuals who are not allowed to join the Armed Forces," Andriiev said.
He emphasized that individuals convicted of high treason, terrorism, or other particularly serious crimes are not eligible for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The fact that not all citizens can exercise the right to conditional early release sets us apart from, say, Russia’s ‘Storm-Z’ units, where individuals with a wide range of criminal convictions are recruited into the Russian Armed Forces," he added.
As of early April 2025, over 8,000 former prisoners have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Approximately 900 more applications are under review.
