Russia allows criminal defendants to fight in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed Laws allowing defendants in criminal cases to sign military contracts and be deployed to fight in Ukraine, expanding the pool of potential recruits for Russia’s two-and-a-half-year war.

Under the new changes, defendants who sign military contracts will be able to have their criminal cases stayed at the request of a military unit – or stop their prosecution altogether.

These soldiers’ criminal records can be expunged if they are awarded government awards for their conduct on the battlefield.

The list of forgivable crimes does not include serious crimes such as treason, espionage, terrorism and sexual crimes.

In March, Russia adopted similar changes allowing the recruitment of convicted prisoners and detainees whose cases have not yet been brought to court.

“The change comes due to the fact that current legislation does not allow the conclusion of military contracts with defendants when their case is being heard in court,” the State Duma said in the lower house after adopting the changes last month.

The changes “will expand the pool of contract soldiers for our armed forces,” said lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee.

Investigative news agency IStories quoted an anonymous source in the Defense Ministry as saying that Russia plans to recruit about 40% of the country’s 60,000 defendants for the war.

The practice of recruiting prisoners for the war in Ukraine was first pioneered by the mercenary group Wagner in 2022, before the Defense Ministry took over the recruitment of prison inmates early last year.

These prisoners reportedly suffered some of the heaviest casualties of Russian forces in Ukraine.