The Russian Defense Ministry, headed by Sergei Shoigu, is looking for ways to find new forces for its army fighting in Ukraine, as the Kremlin wants to avoid a new mobilization, independent Russian publications iStories and Meduza write.
One of Shoigu’s “solutions” was to recruit prisoners from a women’s prison in Russia’s Leningrad region. Although the Ukrainian military has announced that Russia has been recruiting female prisoners since March 2023, this appears to be the first instance of the practice in which independent Russians journalists were able to confirm.
iStories learned from former prisoners of a women’s colony in the Leningrad region that those who are still serving their sentences in the colony are being recruited to fight at the front in Ukraine.
According to former prisoners, in connection with this, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense began to visit penal colony No. 1. 2 villages of Ulyanivka in the fall of 2023.
They allegedly offered convicts contracts to fight in sniper and assault units, including two months of training before deployment and amnesty after completing military service.
According to iStories, between 20 and 50 women have agreed to terms, but none have yet been released from prison.
One woman reportedly agreed to become a sniper, but changed her mind after three months of waiting because she had less than a year left in prison.
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Source: Hot News
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