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TORETSK, Ukraine — A 37-year-old Ukrainian soldier, Victor, shows me his newly built dugout, a mile from Russian trenches in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Russian attacks have been relentless, and the Ukrainians are busy establishing a new defensive line.

What distinguishes Victor from his fellow soldiers — who, like him, are busy cutting down trees and digging trenches to prepare for the next battle — is that just a few weeks ago Victor was a convict in a Ukrainian prison, facing a bleak future and five more years of incarceration. 

In contrast to the tedium of life behind bars, Victor now has to cope with Russian drones roaming overhead, looking for new targets to strike. 

Moscow has already turned to its own prison system to find recruits for the meat-grinder war that Vladimir Putin has unleashed in Ukraine. Now, it’s Ukraine’s turn. With a population that is considerably smaller than Russia’s, Ukraine is finding itself under similar pressure. 

For convicts like Victor, the incentive for risking one’s life in combat is the promise to have a clean sheet and a fresh start after the war. While volunteering to be cannon fodder is not that attractive to most men who have other options, prison bars and the dismal prospect of a future as a social outcast can make the prospect look much more attractive. Thousands of Ukrainian convicts have already signed up for the army.

“I was sentenced to six years in jail and I have only served one,” Victor explains. “When the army offered me freedom if I was willing to fight, I was more than ready.” The crime that had condemned Victor to prison was the theft of a motorbike. Compared to the lethal violence that Putin’s Russia is inflicting on Ukraine on a daily basis, Victor’s spur-of-the-moment indiscretion seems almost innocent. 

“To be honest,” Victor says, “I am sick and angry at Russia’s bombing of our towns and villages. I am happy to be here. ”

Victor adds that his 70-year-old mother is sick and needs the care he can provide. “If I survive, it can be a new start,” he says. 

Another incentive is his 18-year old son. “It is better that he sees me as a soldier defending his homeland and not a convict,” Victor says. The war in Ukraine promises a fresh start, although in a distant future that is at best unpredictable. So far, Victor has been at the front line near the city of Toretsk for four days. 

These days he sleeps on a thin mat in a dugout with a roof strung between tree trunks. His days are spent waiting for the Russians to come. He hasn’t yet told his son that he is no longer in prison or that he is now a soldier.

“I hope he will be proud when I tell him that I am fighting for our homeland,” he says. “I am very motivated. We are all very motivated here — much more than ordinary soldiers. We are not as afraid of dying. If I die, I die.”

The Search for More Soldiers

The Ukrainian parliament has greenlighted enlisting certain convicts in the army. Approximately 42,000 convicts have reportedly signed up with the promise of clean criminal records after the war.

Serious criminals — including those guilty of sexual violence, considered a national security threat, or involved in serious corruption — are excluded from the conditional amnesty and will remain in prison. 

“When we talk about 20,000 [recruited convicts], this is a very theoretical potential,” says Olena Vysotska, Ukraine’s deputy minister of justice. “In reality, it is likely to be 4,000-5,000 new recruits, but we realized [that even this number] of motivated people … will help the Armed Forces. That is why we took this step.”

The Ukrainian manpower shortage and delayed US military aid led to the bitter loss of the industrial city of Avdiivka several months earlier, and Ukrainians have faced a grim outlook along with degrading morale ever since. They were forced to act. In addition to recruiting criminals convicted of minor offenses, the parliament also passed a new law, lowering the age for mobilization to 25.

None of that has slowed the Russian assaults in the Donbas. The Ukrainian surprise offensive, striking into Russia territory near Kursk, hasn’t stopped the Russians either. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) — an American nonprofit research group — recently concluded that Russia has only moved some of its forces away from the Donbas to reinforce its struggling defense of Kursk.

ISW wrote in an assessment on August 21 that Putin appears determined not to let Ukraine’s offensive impact the stability of his regime, which might happen if he slows or reduces the attacks in the Donbas. He is also reluctant to fire commanders who might demonstrate incompetence but nevertheless remain loyal to him. 

Ivan, a Ukrainian battalion commander with Ukraine’s 28th Brigade, which has had to face some of the fiercest battles in the Donbas, says that the fighting around Kursk hasn’t changed much on the Russian side.

“They haven’t stopped trying to seize Toretsk,” he says. The major difference is that the Kursk offensive has strengthened the morale of Ukraine’s soldiers.

“The problem everyone has with not enough manpower,” he says, “is motivation. The soldiers were fully motivated back when the Russians invaded. They were ready for anything and prepared to do anything. It’s a little different now.” Ivan says he has no problems accepting petty criminals as new recruits, especially when, like Victor, they are prepared to hold the line regardless of the cost. 

“They are a great help,” he says. “Our people here are mentally exhausted from holding the front line without replacements.”

Ready To Die

Putin clearly sees the seizure of the Donbas, where a significant number of Russians have resided since the old days of the Soviet Union, as an important objective. The “liberation” of the Donbas was the pretext for invading Ukraine in the first place. If the Russians can seize the strategic cities of Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Chasiv Yar it will be a major step toward establishing complete control over all of the Donbas region.

The former convicts who constitute Ukraine’s newest recruits will be deployed near Toretsk. Besides the Russians, the new arrivals have to contend with an army of mosquitoes that is constantly hunting for fresh blood while the recruits try to dig in. Martin, a 25-year-old ex-convict who was jailed for illegal arms deals, doesn’t mind the mosquitoes that much. The only buzzing worth fearing, he says, is the Russian drones flying overhead. Russian bombardments are only a few days away and Martin is determined to finish his cover by digging still deeper.

“To be honest, I like being here,” he says. “In prison, I just sat around and did nothing. Here, I am at least of some benefit. I can give my life for myself, my loved ones, my country.”

“It is dangerous, but this is a noble cause. That’s why I like it,” he offers. Martin is convinced that people like him, soldiers who already have a criminal record, might turn out to be what the army really needs to hold the line. “There are 140 million Russians and only 40 million of us. We need everyone,” he says, “and we are tough.”

Martin adds that the Russians struck only 100 yards away a day earlier. It was with cluster bombs. Fragments flew through the woods and forced everyone to take cover. Martin says that only a fool wouldn’t be scared, but he is ready to sacrifice his life for Ukraine. He now has a new chance, a possibility to reshape the future for the people he loves. 

They Need All the Men They Can Get

A Ukrainian artillery commander in eastern Ukraine told the Financial Times that his brigade is now forced to ration its shells because resources are being diverted to the battle for Kursk.

The question now is whether the Ukrainians can continue to hold off the Russians in the Donbas and still continue their campaign inside Russia.

The offensive near Kursk may be intended to change the dynamic of the war, which was facing a stalemate. The Russian territory that has been seized in the current offensive could eventually be used in peace negotiations. The offensive also humiliates Putin at home.

Oleksandr, a 31-year-old soldier who was previously serving time for illegal arms possession, says that the offensive in Kursk has provided an excellent boost to morale.

“I could have stayed in the prison,” Oleksander says, “but what would that be worth if Ukraine were to lose the war? Either we stop the Russians, or they will kill us.”

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