Zelensky Mobilizes Over 3,000 Prisoners to Fortify Ukraine’s Ranks as Pro-Russian NATO Leader Visits Kyiv

In the face of battlefield shortages, Volodymyr Zelensky seems to have taken a page out of Russia's playbook and mobilized over 3,000 prisoners to join Ukraine's armed forces.

Knewz.com has learned that this development came right ahead of pro-Russian NATO leader Victor Orbán's Kyiv visit.

Zelensky mobilized over 3,000 prisoners to join Ukraine's armed forces. By: MEGA

For the first time since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Zelenssky has turned to the embattled nation's prisons to fortify the ranks of the armed forces.

Through a "controversial mobilization bill," the Ukrainian parliament has granted parole to over 3,000 prisoners and assigned them to military units.

"A lot of the motivation comes from (inmates) wanting to return home a hero, and not to return home from prison," Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Per the news service, Ukrainian military recruiters are using the ideal of patriotism as a selling point for the recruitment program, for which around 27,000 inmates could potentially be eligible (based on the estimates provided by Ukraine's Justice Ministry).

"You can put an end to this and start a new life... The main thing is your will, because you are going to defend the motherland. You won’t succeed at 50%, you have to give 100% of yourself, even 150%," a military recruiter from Ukraine's volunteer assault battalion told prisoners at a penal colony in the Dnipropetrovsk region, via The Associated Press.

Ukrainian military recruiters are using the ideal of patriotism as a selling point for the recruitment program. By: MEGA

As the Ukraine war enters its 29th month, Zelensky's forces face an acute manpower shortage on the battlefield.

While Russia has been doing the same for a while now, with Vladimir Putin pardoning murderers and cannibals for their service in the war, Ukraine wants "to draw a distinction between their program" and the Russian recruitment of convicts, per The Associated Press.

For starters, inmates convicted of rape, sexual assault, murdering two or more people, or crimes against Ukraine’s national security are not eligible for military recruitment.

Another difference is that Russia has shown a trend of deploying released convicts at the bloodiest of battles, while Ukrainian officials have stated that the inmates recruited by the armed forces will be assigned to regular frontline battalions.

"After screening, paroled inmates are rushed to basic training at camps where they learn how to handle weapons and other combat fundamentals. Training is completed later once they join the individual units," The Associated Press reported.

Hungary's Viktor Orbán has repeatedly been a thorn in the side of the European Union's aid packages for Ukraine. By: MEGA

The latest development came ahead of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán's scheduled visit to the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, July 2, during which he will be meeting President Zelensky.

Notably, Hungary has repeatedly been a thorn in the side of the European Union's (EU) aid packages for Ukraine, blockading them on several grounds in the past few instances.

Furthermore, Orbán was one of the few EU leaders who continued to buy Russian fuel at a time when boycotting business with Putin's energy infrastructure cost other countries—like Germany—billions, per POLITICO.

The Guardian pointed out that this is Orbán's first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, while Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has made over five visits to Russia since the war began.

One of the sources from the Hungarian administration told The Guardian that the Kyiv visit came after a lengthy negotiation with the Ukrainian administration over nationality rights for the Hungarian-speaking minority in Ukraine.

The Hungarian PM's Kyiv visit came after a lengthy negotiation over nationality rights for the Hungarian-speaking minority in Ukraine. By: MEGA

"It was a precondition for the meeting that the issue of nationality rights was resolved. In recent weeks, an agreement has been reached. They will be able to announce this as a success," the source told the outlet.

One of the most pro-Russian members of NATO, Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1, a day before the Kyiv visit, and will be at the helm for the next six months.

Seeing Hungary at the helm of European diplomacy has already sparked significant concern, with French Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield calling the Hungarian presidency a "fiasco for the European Union" and a "concerning" development for European democracy, via a separate report by The Guardian.

"You can be completely [negatively] influencing the rule of law now in the EU, and have your presidency," she added.