Voznesensk Court Releases Convict Early to Join Ukrainian Armed

The Voznesensk City District Court allowed the convict to be released from the colony to perform military service under contract. His release was scheduled for 5 years.

According to the court's ruling, the man is a native of Odesa region who has several convictions, including for illegal hemp cultivation, poaching, and drug trafficking.

The last time, in 2024, the Ovidiopol District Court sentenced him to 7 years in prison with confiscation of property. The man served his sentence in the Voznesenskaya correctional colony No. 72. He was supposed to be released only in April 2030.

However, in March 2025, the convict filed an application to be allowed to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The colony management supported this request and sent a corresponding petition to the court. During the videoconference hearing, the prosecutor, the colony representative and the defendant himself supported the release.

The court granted the motion, releasing the man five years and 18 days early. He is to be transferred to a unit of the National Guard to sign a contract. At the same time, he was placed under administrative supervision for 18 months. The man was forbidden to leave the place of deployment of the military unit without the permission of the commander.

In case of evasion from service, the former prisoner faces criminal liability under Article 336-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Control over the implementation of the restrictions is entrusted to the commander of the unit in which the released person will serve.

At the end of February, the SBU exposed three residents of Mykolaiv region who were conducting information and subversive activities via Viber and Telegram aimed at disrupting mobilization and discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The suspects include two drivers from the public and private sectors, as well as an unemployed woman from Pervomaiskyi district. They tracked the routes of military and law enforcement personnel and shared this information in online chats.

Separately, in Mykolaiv region, a junior sergeant was exposed who demanded $4,500 for "assistance" in exempting a man from mobilization by influencing the medical commission. He was detained while receiving the bribe, fined by the court and released from custody.

Анна Бальчінос