Draft bill #11079-1 of March 13, 2024 

Cosponsors: a group of 35 MPs from the factions Servant of the People and European solidarity with Olena Shuliak as the first signatory 

Status: adopted in full, awaits to be signed by the President 

Who is affected: individuals serving sentences (imprisonment or restriction of freedom), the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine 

Summary: 

  • during martial law, it will be allowed to mobilize individuals serving sentences of imprisonment or restriction of freedom. For prisoners ready to serve in the military under contract, it will be allowed to use provisional early release 
  • prisoners convicted of the following crimes will not be eligible for mobilization: 
    • crimes against the foundations of national security of Ukraine 
    • intended murder of two or more persons, murder committed with special brutality or coupled with rape or sexual abuse 
    • special grave corruption-related criminal offenses 
    • crimes against sexual freedom or sexual inviolability 
    • act of terrorism, public incitement to commit an act of terrorism, creation of a terrorist group, or financing of terrorism 
    • driving under the influence that caused the death of several persons 
    • misleading a court or other authorized body 
    • accepting an offer, promise or receiving an improper advantage by an official who held a particularly responsible position 
  • the court will be allowed to provisionally release a convicted individual from serving a sentence for mobilization and military service under contract if this individual expresses a desire to serve and meets the following requirements: 
    • has at least three years remaining until the maximum age for military service (60 years for privates, sergeants, and sergeant majors, and 65 years for officers) 
    • medically fit for military service 
    • has passed a professional and psychological selection 
    • has sufficient physical fitness for military service duties 
  • the list of positions that can be filled by provisionally released persons will be defined by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 
  • provisionally released persons will serve exclusively in specialized regiments of military units (or specialized military units) 
  • if an individual gets a provisional early release, signs a contract, and then commits a new offense, the court will impose a penalty based on the sum of sentences and credit the previous imprisonment term 
  • if a person provisionally released for service under contract evades military service, they will face 5 to 10 years of imprisonment 
  • issues regarding provisional early release from serving a sentence for military service will be decided by the court upon the motion (submission) of the penal institution 
  • a decision on provisional early release of a person from serving a sentence will be immediately sent by the court to the recruitment center 
  • after the decision is sent, the National Guard will deliver a person to the recruitment center and hand them over for signing a contract and dispatching to a specialized regiment of the military unit for service 
  • administrative supervision over mobilized prisoners will be carried out by the military unit commander, special accounting of former prisoners will be applied 
  • such service members will not be granted annual basic leave, except in the following cases: 
  • leave for family reasons or other valid reasons for no more than 10 calendar days 
  • paid leave for medical treatment or recovery from injury (based on the conclusion of the military medical commission) 
  • contracts of mobilized prisoners will be terminated and service members who served under contract will be dismissed from military service on the following grounds: 
    • due to health condition — based on the conclusion of the military medical commission about unfitness for military service with exclusion from military records or about unfitness for military service subject for review in 6 to 12 months 
    • upon the entry into legal force of a court conviction that imposes a sentence of imprisonment or restriction of liberty 
  • after the court’s guilty verdict appointing a penalty in the form of incarceration or restriction of freedom comes into force 
  • after the end of the special period or declaration of demobilization. 

What is right: 

  • the draft bill introduces regulations on the provisional early release for individuals who have expressed a desire to serve under contract and standardizes their admission to military service, which will help increase the mobilization potential of the state 
  • the draft bill regulates issues of social and legal protection of mobilized prisoners and the implementation of administrative supervision over them. 

Additional information: 

Ok, So What? podcast, p. 1: Mobilization of prisoners: what issues should be considered