Ukraine’s Fighting Force: Prisoners with war fighting experience to be released?

Prosecutor General clarified how Ukraine releases prisoners with military experience to fight against Russia Is Ukrainian TV

I’d like to clarify the information about the release of some prisoners from custody to participate in the defense of the state.

First – it is not a mass action, but a very balanced step.

Simply saying, the population should not worry about crime flooding the streets. And for those who are serving their sentences, hope for an “open day” too.

Each of the dismissed had significant combat experience in the Donbas zone in 2014-2015. All of them are ardent opponents of the “Russian world”, and one of them is the author of a well-known song by Ukrainian fans about the main aggressor Putin. All risks are individually assessed and control mechanisms are identified.

almost 100 000 citizens were mobilized in 2 days, half of them are territory defense reservists. However, defending Ukraine is not only a duty but also a right. And when there is a question about the preservation of statehood and the future of Ukraine, we believe that those who stumbled but want to help protect their native land, deserve this chance. In addition, we are convinced that the main task of the penitentiary system is not punishment, but correction.

At the same time, the Ukrainian army needs material support. We could not stand aside when the state was in danger. Prosecutors at all levels throughout the country decide to lift arrests and transfer equipment and weapons, as well as fuel seized during the investigation of criminal proceedings, to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard. More than 10,000 tons of fuel, armored vehicles, and weapons have already been delivered. For the Entire release

Meet the Prosecutor General. RFE

Ukrainian Investigative Director Who Clashed With Activists Approved As Prosecutor-General

Lawmakers have approved Iryna Venedyktova, a top investigative official who has clashed with reporters and civil society activists, as Ukraine’s new prosecutor-general. 

The March 17 vote by the Verkhovna Rada was the latest in a series of top-level government personnel changes by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. 

Some of Zelenskiy’s moves have worried civil-society activists, who fear he is backsliding on reforms and reverting to policies that have hobbled Ukraine for years.

Venedyktova, 41, is the first woman to head Ukraine’s top prosecutorial office. 

She’s currently the acting director of the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR), a corruption-fighting agency that lawmakers voted to revamp in December after the bureau’s then-director was forced out amid questions of conflict of interest. 

Earlier this month, Venedyktova sued the newspaper Ukrayinska pravda for republishing an article by the Anti-Corruption Action Center, that alleged her husband was influencing personnel policy at the DBR.

Venedyktova also sued the action center, a nongovernmental organization that has been at the heart of efforts to root out the country’s notorious graft problem.

As prosecutor-general, Venedyktova replaces Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who was nominated to the position by Zelenskiy. 

Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to streamline and professionalize the scandal-ridden prosecutor-general’s office. He was forced out in a no-confidence vote on March 5. 

Venedyktova reportedly clashed with Ryaboshapka over an investigation the DBR was conducting into Zelenskiy’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.

Olena Halushka, director of international relations with the Anti-Corruption Action Center, said Venedyktova’s new position raised doubts about the reform efforts that Ryaboshapka had undertaken.

Halushka said Venedyktova did not have a background in criminal law, and had made several controversial appointments during her brief tenure as head of the DBR.

“Given her background and previous activities, as well as the context in which Ryaboshapka was dismissed and she [was] appointed, there are doubts she will be an independent and efficient prosecutor-general,” she told RFE/RL.

Zelenskiy’s shake-up of the government, which included firing his prime minister, worried not only civil society activists, but also Western financial backers. 

Kyiv has been negotiating a long-delayed $5.5 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund, which is seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence.

Public trust in Zelenskiy has slid sharply since his landslide election in April 2019. His trust ratings dropped to around 50 percent last month from 80 percent in September, according to the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center.