Russian authorities are offering criminal suspects the option to have charges dropped if they agree to fight in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin seeks to replenish troop losses along the frontlines, according to new reports.
According to laws signed into effect by the Russian President in June 2023, convicts were eligible for pardon or to have the remainder of their sentences struck off if they volunteered to participate in the Kremlin’s war machine.
That move came as part of a desperate move to plug losses left by the infamous Wagner mercenary group which had launched recruitment drives in penal colonies throughout 2022 but was later denied access as the Ministry of Defence sought to use the tactic for the Russian army proper.
However, this new practice, formalised by legislation in March 2024, allows individuals accused of crimes to avoid prosecution by agreeing to serve on the front lines before being convicted.
Both prosecution and defence lawyers are now required to inform suspects of this option, with criminal cases suspended if they enlist.
It comes as Ukrainian intelligence officials declared that thousands of troops from North Korea are due to arrive in Russia‘s frontline region of Kursk today to fight for Putin.
Russian inmates are filmed being recruited to fight in Ukraine by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in September 2022
Russia has long resorted to recruiting prisoners from penal colonies (pictured) to fight in Ukraine – but now suspects who have not been convicted of a crime can choose to sign a military contract and avoid court
‘The video clearly shows North Korean citizens being given Russian uniforms under the direction of the Russian military,’ Ihor Solovey, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, said
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un meet in Pyongyang, June 19, 2024
The efforts of Russian authorities to funnel criminal suspects into their military apparatus were uncovered in a joint investigation between the BBC and Russian independent outlet Mediazona.
They initially received a leaked recording of a Russian investigator telling the spouse of one man facing a potential six-year jail term that ‘we will close the case’ if her husband were to sign a military contract.
‘We’re seeing an unprecedented shift in the legal system,’ Olga Romanova, director of the NGO Russia Behind Bars, told the BBC.
‘Police can now catch a man over the corpse of someone he has just killed. They tighten the handcuffs and then the killer says: ”Oh wait, I want to go on a special military operation”, and they close the criminal case.’
Several lawyers have confidentially confirmed the practice is now widespread – so much so that former Olympic gold medalists have been encouraged to take such a deal.
Andrey Perlov, 62, has been in detention for over six months on charges of embezzling 3 million roubles (£25,000) from a football club.
His family denies the accusations and says Perlov, who took the gold in the 50km walk at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, is being pressured to sign up for military service in Ukraine, in exchange for his case being frozen and potentially dropped after the war.
When he refused, he was jailed and has been restricted from seeing family members, they claim.
Footage purportedly shows North Korean troops in Russia ahead of deployment to UkraineÂ
A video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers in Russia has surfaced
File image of North Korean soldiers march during a mass military parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate 100 years since the birth of North Korean founder, Kim Il Sung
Analysts suspect the move is one of many options being pursued by Putin and Russian authorities to avoid resorting to more conscription and risking the opinion of the general population turning against the war in Ukraine.
To this end, Putin is also said to have agreed with Kim Jong Un that a contingent of North Korean troops be organised into a special unit to fight alongside Russians on the frontlines.
Russia’s Kursk region is still partially occupied by Ukrainian forces that launched a lightning offensive there earlier this year.
Kim Jong Un’s troops are expected to deploy alongside Russian units to reclaim the territory.
‘We expect the first units in the Kursk direction,’ said Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
How many will be deployed and how they will be equipped is still unclear, but Budanov said he expected some 2,600 troops from Pyongyang to arrive in Kursk.
‘We’ll see in a couple of days,’ GUR chief Lt-Gen Budanov told US website The War Zone.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told his people in his daily TV broadcast that thousands of North Koreans are being readied for deployment in Putin’s war.
Videos from the Far East of Russia appear to show Kim’s soldiers being issued equipment and undergoing training – but there has been no confirmation from the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press briefing today: ‘There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,’ using North Korea’s formal name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
‘What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,’ Austin added.
A rescue worker looks for survivors in the aftermath of a Russian attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Troops march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang
North Korea practices artillery drills in an undisclosed location in March
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a meeting in 2018
In one new video, a voice is heard saying: ‘The handsome allied soldiers from North Korea have arrived.
‘I hope the war will now end.’
Zelensky said: ‘We have information about the preparation of two units of military personnel from North Korea.
‘Maybe even two brigades of 6,000 people – and this is a challenge.’
North Korea has called the reports of it sending troops to Russia nothing more than ‘groundless rumours’.
But South Korean intelligence claims they are being issued fake military IDs, to make it appear they are residents of Siberian regions Yakutia and Buryatia.
It comes as the North Korean ruler’s sister Kim Yo Jong called Ukrainians ‘bad dogs’ and ‘lunatics’ in a tirade against Kyiv.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the United States is ‘very close’ to finalising a $20 billion payment to Ukraine that would be paid for with proceeds from frozen Russian assets, reported Politico.
Zelensky also hinted at scope to scale back the war, and end its ‘hot phase’, ushering in peace talks.
‘A decision on energy security could be made,’ he said.
‘In other words: we do not attack their energy infrastructure, they do not attack ours. Could this lead to the end of the hot phase of the war? I think so.’