Overview

• Russia's prison population has significantly decreased as inmates are recruited to fight in Ukraine, leading to the closure of some prisons.
• A regional official cited the closures as a measure to 'optimize and save money,' amidst a large reduction in the number of convicts.
• Russia's military and the Wagner Group have been recruiting prisoners, promising pardons or conditional releases for service in Ukraine.
• The recruitment has caused the prison population to drop from 420,000 before the war to a historic low of 266,000.
• Russian prisoners conscripted to fight are told they may have to serve until the war ends or until they are too old or incapacitated.