Russia released a group of female prisoners from prison in late May to fight in Ukraine, according to two former inmates who are still in contact, potentially signaling a new phase in the Kremlin's use of criminals in its war effort.
Army recruiters recruited several women from a prison outside St. Petersburg, according to the former prisoners, whose names are being kept secret to protect them from possible retaliation. It is unclear whether their release represents an isolated case, a pilot program or the start of a larger recruitment of female prisoners.
When the invasion began, about 30,000 women were serving sentences in Russia.
Military Recruiter Start visiting the women's prison More than a year after the Russian military began offering pardons and salaries to serving male prisoners in exchange for joining the fight, a large-scale military operation began in parts of European Russia in the fall of 2023. However, according to interviews with former and current inmates at four Russian women's prisons, the serving female prisoners have so far remained locked up without official explanation.
Tens of thousands of imprisoned Russian men answered the call, replenished the country's invasion forces at a critical moment in the war and helped the country regain military advantage over Ukraine. Thousands of them were killed in Ukraine. Some of those who completed their military service and were discharged alive Committing a serious crimeincluding homicides.
The recruitment of female prisoners comes as the Russian government seeks to avoid another unpopular conscription by adopting increasingly unusual schemes to attract volunteers from marginalised groups in Russian society. In addition to prison inmates, the recruitment schemes also target debtors, people accused of crimes and foreigners.
Russia’s Defense Ministry and Penitentiary Service have not responded to all requests for comment on the country’s prison recruitment program in the past.
It is not clear what roles the recruited women will serve on the front lines. Last year, military recruiters visited the prison near St. Petersburg and offered inmates one-year contracts as snipers, field medics and front-line radio operators, a stark difference from the mainly auxiliary positions most Russian female soldiers hold. At the time, about 40 of the prison's 400 inmates signed up.
They received amnesty and a monthly stipend worth about $2,000, about 10 times the national minimum wage.
Ukraine is also using prisoner soldiers. After long mocking Russia's prison recruitment practices, the Kiev government approved a similar plan last month amid a growing shortage of troops. Ukrainian officials said Since then, thousands of prisoners have applied to join the army..
