From convict to combatant, Ukraine enlists prisoners to fight Russian forces

Oleksandr was a former prison guard before the war and is now back in the de-facto position. He says 'the convict sub-culture is used to surviving.' (CNN)

Lurking in the bushes near Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is a unit of men who have two things in common: The short amount of time they have served defending their nation and time spent behind bars.

The 15 infantry men of the 59th Brigade, part of the Shkval – or wind gust - battalion are former prisoners. Convicted of a variety of crimes, they see their service in defense of Ukraine as redemption and a chance at a new life without a criminal record.

The catch for prisoners is that they are contracted to the military until the end of the war. There is also a considerable financial incentive: Wages range from US$500 to US$4,000 per month, depending on time spent on the front line, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry.

CNN was granted exclusive access to these recently recruited prisoners last week, near the crucial Donbas town of Pokrovsk. The city has become a focal point in recent weeks as part of the nearly 600-mile line of contact that is desperately short of men, ammunition and ever encroaching better supplied and vast Russian forces.

Among the recruits is Vitaly, 41, a recovered addict and a father-of-five. He asked to be identified by first name only for security reasons.

Vitaly told CNN that he had served 10 years in prison for four different crimes, most recently for grievous bodily harm.

Perched on a tree stump, Vitaly mumbles: “My life was crazy. I grew up with bandits, as did all of our guys (in the unit).”

But by joining the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, he saw an opportunity.

“I need to turn the page of my life. My life was a mess. It’s better to be useful here, to be around brothers … and a completely different social circle,” he said.

He’s been in the trenches for three months following a short, 21-day training period. Vitaly has no regrets about his choice to join the army, but he said he was naive about what to expect.

“Life is hard here, it’s fun … but I didn’t think it would be this hard,” he said.

Life as an infantry soldier is particularly dangerous with casualties higher than other members of the military. Infantry soldiers are often exposed to Russian drone attacks and storming trenches as they traverse large expanses of land by foot.

Vitaly recalls a particularly brutal drone attack on a comrade.

“He was taken apart. It is so hard to watch… but what can you do? You can’t help. You need to leave them behind because half of the man is already gone,” he said.

In June, the defense ministry launched an initiative that gives prisoners the chance to serve in the army, in exchange for freedom after the war.

There are strict rules around recruiting prisoners into the army, however. Convicts who have committed rape or any kind of sexual violence are prohibited from joining. The majority of the ex-cons CNN met had been jailed for offenses such as robbery or grievous bodily harm.

The Shkval battalion told CNN that they’re making legal requests to allow prisoners who have committed murder to join their ranks, because they feel those inmates may possess the skills needed on the battlefield.

Vitaly is one of 4,650 convicts, including 31 women, who have been released and called up for military service, Ukraine’s defense ministry told CNN. In total, 5,764 had expressed a desire to serve. The ministry did not say how many were currently serving on the front lines

The convict-to-combat initiative as well as a conscription reform are an attempt to bolster the faltering ranks of Ukrainian soldiers after two-and-half years of grinding war. But people CNN spoke to along the front line hinted at problems with the program, including inconsistent and short training periods. Those difficulties, coupled with chronic manpower shortages, are stunting Ukraine’s ability to repel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces, they said.

With life on the front line more challenging than many expected, Vitaly now wishes that he’d paid closer attention during his short training. He thinks it may have better prepared him for what was to come.

“We were stupid and didn’t take it seriously. We were not responsible; it was a mistake not to listen or pay attention,” he said.

Keeping the peace

Ensuring there is no disruption to the peace in the unit is Oleksandr, the company commander.

Vitaly’s company commander Oleksandr is no stranger to convicts. He left his position as a prison guard in February 2022, when the war began. Now, despite his protestations, he is back in his old job – but this time, on the battlefield.

“They see me as a former prison guard, as a brother-in-arms, as a commander, everyone here lives as one family,” Oleksandr, who also asked to be identified only by his first name, said of the soldiers, adding, “I am a psychologist, father, mother, everything.”

Along with the 15 prisoners already in his unit, he’s expecting a further 25 from the prison where he used to work.

Oleksandr said that many convicts, like Vitaly, signed up with the aim of reforming themselves.

“Many of them have families in front of whom they were ashamed of what they did. They have children who are told that their father is a convict. When he joins the armed forces, he is no longer a convict – but a hero,” Oleksandr said.

During CNN’s time with the brigade in Pokrovsk, we were approached by another officer who said that morale was dwindling as the best Western weapons had been diverted towards the Kursk incursion, troops were lacking motivation and both soft-skin and armored vehicles were dwindling, complicating logistics and evacuations. The officer, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that a few days earlier they’d refused to fight alongside troops from a new brigade of freshly drafted men, due to their low morale and motivation to fight.

Still, morale may be Ukraine’s only hope in Pokrovsk as Russian forces zero in on the town.

At sundown in the town, the streets empty and the artillery barrages begin.

Russian forces are only 8 kilometers (5 miles) away, according to a map dated September 10 from DeepState, a group that monitors the progress of Russian forces in Ukraine that has links to Ukraine’s security services.

Pokrovsk is a vital supply town for eastern Ukrainian forces fighting back the tides of Russian soldiers. Its capture would be a coup for Putin as he looks to take control of the entire region of Donetsk. It could result in a withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Chasiv Yar and the line of contact moving closer to the much larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Oleksandr is aware of the unenviable task of holding the Russians at bay, but thinks his troops have a skill that others don’t.

“The convict sub-culture is used to surviving. This means physical endurance, moral endurance, plus cunning, logical thinking, much higher than those of ordinary civilians.”