Russian authorities will expand the conscription of prisoners for the war against Ukraine: what measures will be taken
18 July 19:06
The Russian government has submitted a package of bills to the State Duma that would expand the list of crimes for which a criminal record would not prevent an individual from signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to be subsequently deployed to the war against Ukraine. The relevant documents have been published in the lower house of parliament’s electronic database. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing Russian propaganda media.
Under the initiative, it is proposed to remove a number of articles from the Criminal Code from the list of restrictions, including those concerning the smuggling of cash (Art. 200.1), participation in a criminal gang (Part 2 of Art. 209), unlawful interference with the operation of critical infrastructure (subparagraph “b” of Part 5 of Art. 217.1), unlawful handling of nuclear materials (Art. 220), their embezzlement (Part 1 of Art. 221), smuggling of strategically important goods (Part 1 of Art. 226.1), and narcotics (Parts 1–3 and subparagraphs “b” and “c” of Part 2 of Article 2 of Article 322.1), as well as the loss of documents containing state secrets (Article 284).
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At the same time, it is proposed to maintain the ban on entering into contracts for those convicted of crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, terrorism, sabotage, espionage, treason, and a number of other serious crimes.
Since November 2022, Russia has allowed the mobilization of citizens with criminal records for most serious crimes, including murder, robbery, armed robbery, and drug trafficking. In June 2023, the State Duma passed a law allowing contracts to be signed with convicted prisoners and those under investigation; this provision was later extended to include defendants as well.
As this practice expands, the number of inmates in Russian prisons continues to decline. According to Arkady Gostyev, director of the Federal Penitentiary Service, as of May 2026, there were 282,000 people in prisons—the lowest figure since the early 2000s.
By comparison, at the end of 2021, the prison population stood at 465,000. Gostev noted that “efforts to recruit contract soldiers for the Armed Forces have had a certain impact” on the reduction in the number of convicts. Meanwhile, back in March, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court stated that 308,000 people were being held in Russian pretrial detention centers and penal colonies.
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