A mere year ago, there was already ample evidence that Ukrainian recruitment officers were using brutal and desperate tactics to ensure a steady supply of young soldiers for the front lines in the fight against Russia. This is a trend which has only grown, as the tragic situation of masses of casualties persists, and also amid the Zelensky government’s refusal to even attempt to negotiate a peaceful end to the war.

But earlier in the conflict, any Western outlet or pundit who highlighted and condemned scenes of young men being beaten and harshly seized off Ukraine’a streets by military recruiters would have been dismissed as a ‘pro-Russian propagandist’. Yet now this trend has long been impossible to deny, and only very belatedly mainstream media sources are covering it. For example, on Sunday The Washington Post highlighted that Ukraine has resorted to releasing nearly 3,000 hardened criminals and convicts from prisons to serve in the military. The plan has immediately been met with pushback and controversy. “No one has trust in this, but we need it,” one military official involved in the policy told WaPo. However, the official admitted while describing the likelihood that this will cause disorder on the frontlines: “They’re all going to run like Forrest Gump.”

The report detailed that many of the newly released convicts were “jailed for dealing drugs, stealing phones and committing armed assaults and murders, among other serious crimes.“ However, Ukrainian Justice Minister Denis Malyuska was cited in the report as claiming “the motivation of our inmates is stronger than our ordinary soldiers,” and insisted that ultimately they “want to protect their country and they want to turn the page.” Washington Post isn’t the only outlet which has begrudgingly shifted from its fawning and overly idealist coverage of Ukraine’s armed forces and the dire battlefield situation, but BBC too has this week issued some devastating footage portraying the severe manpower crisis (and here’s a similar one from CNN days ago). Watch the BBC’s surprisingly blunt reporting below:

The BBC reports on the brutal “recruitment” of Ukrainians.
– This was until recently dismissed as “Russian propaganda” as it interferes with the war narrative, although reality eventually catches up pic.twitter.com/ow2EIsgAps

— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) June 18, 2024