Ukraine war: From the prison cell to the frontline, convicts called on to fight
A few weeks ago, the Ukrainian soldier was crammed in a prison cell with seven other inmates, serving time for accidentally killing his friend in a car crash.
Now, Valery, 28, is among thousands of convicts serving their country on the frontline against Russia after being freed from jail under a scheme to bolster Ukraine’s depleted infantry ranks.
Asked what it was like to be on the battlefield instead of behind bars, he said: “My motivation was mainly to defend Ukraine, my family, and my loved ones…
“The feeling when you leave prison and realise that you’re free again is indescribable. Freedom is, after all, freedom. It was very tough back there [in jail], and when I came out here, everything was new, everything was great. It felt like I was born again.”
Some 6,800 criminals have been freed from jails across Ukraine to join the armed forces since the government first unveiled its prisoner recruitment drive last May. By contrast, Russia has long been sending its felons to the frontline.
Not every Ukrainian inmate can apply for release. Those convicted of the most serious offences, including the murder of two or more people, sexual crimes and treason, are barred.
Convicts learn to fly drones which will carry deadly bombs
All eligible volunteers must pass medical checks and have their application approved by a court. They sign a contract, agreeing to fight without a holiday for a year and to serve until the end of the war. At that point, they will immediately be granted parole.
In 129 Brigade, prisoners also learn how to operate surveillance drones
Sky News met a group of criminals – convicted of a range of offences, from theft to thuggery – who are fighting to help hold onto a chunk of Russian territory that Ukraine captured last summer.
They are part of a regular armed forces brigade, but their unit – named Shkval, which means squall in English – of about 100 felons operates separately from everyone else.
Serving with 129 Brigade is a lucky break, most freed criminals join the infantry
Valery, whose callsign is “Hacker”, and three other recently-released prisoners, are learning how to fly drones.
“I’ve always been fascinated by drones,” Valery said, speaking as he handled a control panel, buzzing a rotary aircraft around a frozen field in northeastern Ukraine.
Once makeshift bombs are produced, they are attached and dropped from drones
Joining ‘drone’ brigade is lucky break
It is a lucky break for him as most freed criminals are channelled straight into the infantry of whichever brigade they join.
This is one of the most dangerous jobs on the battlefield, with soldiers ordered to storm enemy positions or placed at the very front of defensive lines.
In 129 Brigade, however, there is also the opportunity for prisoners with the potential to learn other skills, such as how to operate attack and surveillance drones.
Ukrainian forces are modifying mortars, mines and other munitions for their drones
Yevhen, 33, had been part way into a seven-year sentence for hitting someone in the neck during a fight when he opted to leave prison and join the military last month.
He has just started learning how to operate drones, saying: “I’m helping Ukraine, and that’s my duty. I could have just sat idly in prison, but here, I can be of more use.”
Yevhen is one of around 6,800 criminals who are now part of Ukraine’s army
The brigade’s prisoner unit is commanded by a tall, broad man with a big personality, who – unlike the men he leads – is not a convict. A businessman and former basketball player, he has been fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion since it began.
Anatoly, 55, said the influx of criminals is a welcome resource to ease up pressure on the frontline.
“These guys are now giving people like us – well, not us, since we’re tireless – but other soldiers, like shooters, a chance to rest, breathe, and rotate,” he said sitting in a makeshift office in a building that was once a school but has become a base for his men when they are not fighting inside Russia’s Kursk region.
Anatoly, commander of the brigade’s prisoner unit, does not use the term ‘criminals’
We don’t call them criminals
He said lots of prisoners want to join his team, predicting he would have enough to form a battalion of 500 men by the end of February.
“They want to come to us because our approach is more proper-military,” Anatoly said.
“It’s not just about handing out rifles for three days and sending them off [to fight]. We run a full [training] cycle, and we personally carry out combat training with each soldier.”
He also forbids anyone in the wider brigade to use terms such as “convict”, “jailbird” or “criminal” when referring to his soldiers once they have put on a uniform and vowed to serve.
It is dangerous work.
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Anatoly described how his men have been part of Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk since it began in August. In that time, he has lost 17 soldiers, with another 30 wounded.
He praised their heroism, despite having criminal records, singling out one 19-year-old who had been in an orphanage, found himself in trouble with the law and ended up in prison.
Anatoly said this young man, callsign Ninja, had taken out nine highly-trained Russian soldiers before dying in an artillery strike last December.
It is dangerous work, ‘Ninja’ was just 19 when he died in an artillery strike
While Ninja was an example of the courage shown by many of the former prisoners under his command, Anatoly said there have also been some disappointments.
He has sent about 10 convicts back to jail for breaking the rules, including one man who tried to flee multiple times and stole a car.
“That’s when you realise that some people are beyond help, they have no place here.”
Extra time for breaking the rules
Under the prisoner release contract, anyone who violates the deal will be returned to prison and receive a further ten years’ jail time on top of whatever sentence they were already doing.
In a separate building on the base, a group of newly arrived convicts receive medical training for the kinds of injuries they may experience in combat.
Convicts receive medical training, just in case
Denys, 43, listened intently.
He had been serving time for deserting his previous army unit.
“I’ve made amends and decided this [re-joining the armed forces] was the right thing to do,” he said.
Asked how it felt to be training for battle just three days after leaving his prison cell. Denys said: “War. It doesn’t feel great, but it has to be done.”
World
‘Better late than never’: Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
Britain will be taking “a courageous step at a very difficult time” by officially recognising a Palestinian state, according to the authority’s foreign minister, who told Sky News she believes the announcement – expected in the coming days – will inspire more nations to follow suit.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told me Britain’s move was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.
But she also said she is “very angry” with the White House over its “unwavering support” for Israel, and said that Israel’s refusal to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.
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Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?
Aghabekian was speaking as Britain, along with France, Canada and Australia, prepares to recognise the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations.
She told me: “Britain has been supporting the existence and the flourishing of Israel for some time, but I think today Britain is looking at the matter objectively, in terms of the right of people, in terms of complying with international law, and in terms of the future of this area for both the Israelis and Palestinians.”
She rejected the idea that recognising Palestine was a reward for Hamas terrorism, saying that “non-recognition” would also be a “reward to the extremists” and said that “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians, then it won’t happen”.
Aghabekian told me she expected Gaza to be returned to the Palestinians, but I put it to her that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was being empowered by the diplomatic support he receives from America, and in particular, US President Donald Trump.
So is she angry with the White House? “Very angry, because I expect the White House and the United States of America to align with international law, with human rights, with having no double standards.
“This unwavering support for Israel, this blind support, is not only harming the Palestinians but also Israeli society.”
Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Gaza could be ‘real estate bonanza’, Israeli minister says
Varsen Aghabekian speaks to Sky’s Adam Parsons
The state of Palestine is already recognised by three-quarters of the United Nations’ members. It comprises two separate territories – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Together, they are officially known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The West Bank has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, while Gaza has been attacked by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and recover its hostages. There are 48 hostages still in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
She confirmed to me that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, “has given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip” and insisted there was “probably a worldwide consensus” on the topic.
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How has UK responded to Israel-Gaza conflict?
But she also insisted it was “not reasonable” to talk of completely erasing Hamas: “Hamas is an ideology, not a building that you bring down. Hamas is in people’s minds; in their heads.
“Those who support Hamas need to see a future, need to see something that is moving on the political level, need to see that there might be a state in which their children and their grandchildren might prosper.
“What people see today, whether they are Hamas supporters or not, they see darkness and they see destruction all over. They see violation of rights. They are helpless and hopeless. People need to see things are moving forward, and once that happens, there will be a shift in the mood, and they will look for a better future.”
But just as the Palestinians prepare to welcome recognition, Aghabekian said the West Bank was facing financial collapse as Israel continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue that, under a 30-year-old agreement, it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf.
Israel has retained a proportion of the money since the start of the war in Gaza, but, encouraged by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, it has recently withheld a much higher amount.
“People have not been paid, civil servants are only receiving small parts of their salaries. We can’t buy medical supplies, equipment, you name it,” said Aghabekian.
“How can a government run a country under such conditions? So yes, we are very worried.”
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