Russia Offers Amnesty, Citizenship To Ukraine Prisoners If They Join War Against Their Country

Moscow is now attempting to recruit captured Ukrainian soldiers to fight for Russia after suffering heavy losses in the war, according to a report.

As of Tuesday, the Russian army had lost approximately 50,150 soldiers in the war, according to estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The significant losses have forced the Russian army to make efforts to replenish its forces, including offering amnesty and citizenship to prisoners of war who agree to fight against Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) wrote in a Facebook post.

"In connection with significant losses, the number of enemy units assigned to restore combat capability has increased. In addition, units of private military campaigns are forced to be replenished at the expense of prisoners in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. These persons are offered amnesty, citizenship of the Russian Federation and payments for their participation in the war against Ukraine," the post stated.

The Russian military has reportedly been performing similar undertakings over the past months. Last week, Russian army recruiters in St. Petersburg were allegedly attempting to hand out leaflets to homeless men explaining that they were being called to serve as soldiers in the war.

In late August, a U.S. official who spoke with Reuters on the condition of anonymity said that Russia's Ministry of Defense is compelling injured soldiers to re-enter the battlefield to make up for personnel shortages amid the war.

The official, who cited U.S. intelligence as his source, said the Russian army is "also likely to begin" recruiting convicted criminals to fight in the war. In exchange, they will receive a pardon and financial compensation. This information was later echoed by one prisoner who spoke to CNN.

"They will accept murderers, but not rapists, pedophiles, extremists, or terrorists," he said. "Amnesty or a pardon in six months is on offer. Somebody talks about 100,000 rubles a month, another 200,000. Everything is different."

The prisoner added that at least 400 inmates applied for conscription and 50 inmates had already been recruited and placed into quarantine in prison.