Changes in Russian legislation will allow recruiters in the aggressor country’s army to recruit around 20,000 people from among those under investigation in the Russian Federation and suspected of committing crimes.
Russian authorities plan to send 40 percent of the defendants to the war against Ukraine in connection with the adoption of a new law allowing this category of people to be drafted into the army of the aggressor country. The Russian non-governmental publication “Important Stories” writes about this, referring to its interlocutors.
Two lawyers working on criminal cases in the Russian Federation told the publication that preparations have begun in pre-trial detention centers in Russia for “detaching the defendants from the chain”, that is, sending them to war. A source from the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the relevant task was given to the army that deals with recruitment. Now we are collecting information about the number of those eligible for military service and signing contracts.
“Of the 60 thousand defendants, 40 percent are expected to be taken away,” said the publication’s interlocutor, which, according to other media sources, means that up to 20 thousand people could be sent to fight against Ukraine.
Another interlocutor of the publication says that there are many people who want to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the previously aggressor country. According to lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, temporary detention centers and pre-trial detention centers are “persuaded” to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense through the tightening of detention conditions, and the lawyer attributes the active campaign to recruit detainees to the authorities. Reluctance to “announce a second wave of mobilization.”
A source from the General Staff of the Russian Army told the publication that the number of prisoners conscripted for war is decreasing and that “this is not an endless resource.”
“Decision to send to SVO” [так в РФ называют войну против Украины — ред.] Defendants say that the influx of prisoners has decreased and is no longer the same as before. Those who were convicted of minor crimes and did not stay in prison for a long time are not very willing to go to war. […] In Russia, a significant part of this contingent has already been screened, so we have to take potential prisoners at the entrance,” says the publication’s interlocutor.
According to him, sending 40 percent of defendants to war “is perhaps an official promise, given the experience in the recruitment of defendants and detainees.” When asked whether all these factors increase the possibility of a new wave of mobilization, the publication’s interlocutor said: “It depends on whether the Kremlin has enough patience. For now, the political leadership is satisfied with the progress of the troops. “400 meters a day and the gradual crushing of the Ukrainian army, but everything can change.”
Let’s remember, on September 19, WSJ reported that Putin had not reached an agreement on a new wave of mobilization in the Russian Federation at the beginning of 2024, which Shoigu, the former head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, insisted on.
On September 25, Bloomberg reported that Russian lawmakers amended the law under which the Russian Federation can recruit people with the status of criminal suspects into the ranks of the army.
Source: Focus
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